Lunch seminar with Thomas Biegert "They Can't All Be Stars: The Matthew Effect, Status Bias, and Status Persistence in NBA All-Star Voting"

In the week before Christmas Thomas Biegert (LSE) will introduce his work based on the article "The Can't All Be Stars: The Matthew Effect, Status Bias, and Status Persistence in NBA All-Star Voting" (co-authored with Michael Kuehhirt and Wim van Lancker) at the IISS seminar.

The seminar will be held in English.

In the article in question, the authors investigate the role of Matthew effects and status bias in status persistence. They use data on player performance in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and yearly elections to the NBA All-Star game to investigate whether becoming an All-Star increases the likelihood of being re-elected to become an All-Star in the following year.

Thomas Biegert is an Assistant Professor in Social Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science. His main research interests are in social inequality and social policies. His work focuses on mechanisms of cross-sectional and longitudinal cumulative (dis-)advantage and how the impact of welfare states on economies varies with institutional contexts.

Abstract of the article
What is the role of Matthew effects and status bias in status persistence? A large literature demonstrates biased evaluations of performance due to status signals, which results in cumulative (dis-)advantage. Characteristics signaling higher status lead individuals to assess comparable performances more positively, which results in an accumulation of advantages and higher inequality that is not grounded in actual performance differences. We use data on player performance in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and yearly elections to the NBA All-Star game to investigate whether becoming an All-Star increases the likelihood of being re-elected to become an All-Star in the following year. We contribute to the literature on status bias as the precise measurement of actual performance allows us to separate the effects of All-Star Status on subsequent performance and biased evaluations by the voters. Centrally, the fact that the All-Star election takes place every year allows us to assess to which extent status bias leads to status persistence. Preliminary findings indicate strong status bias. This is partly mediated by performance differences after treatment, yet there is still a higher probability to become an All-Star for players who were elected in the previous year even after controlling for mediating performance differences.