Chapter 110 Question ○ Nine Nine

Why is the US men's soccer team doing so poorly in international competitions while the US women's soccer team is so much better? (Dave Decker) Throughout the twentieth century, the United States has consistently led the Olympic Games in terms of total gold medals in both men's and women's competitions.In recent years, the U.S. women's soccer team has dominated the world competition.But the U.S. men's football team is notoriously a second-rate team.Why this discrepancy? As of the 1960s, football was rarely played in American schools, even less professionally.Since then, football has been promoted to a considerable extent in the United States, but it is still a second-rate sport.Professionals in football, baseball, basketball, and hockey have traditionally earned seven-figure salaries, and the most talented young athletes go there.As a result, soccer teams can only draft players from a pool of limited talent.

In other parts of the world, soccer has been a dominant men's sport.In most countries, every talented young athlete dreams of becoming a soccer star.The U.S. men's soccer team frequently loses in international competitions because those countries draft their players from among the best athletes. The international situation for the U.S. women's team is even more favorable because the number of women participating in sports is limited in most other countries.In the United States, Title IX of the Education Act Amendments requires schools to spend equally on sports for men and women.Since there are no other high-paying women's professional sports leagues in the United States, the most talented female athletes are not bid by other sports.

While many interesting differences in international behavior arise from prices and incomes, there are also differences in international behavior that result from differences in economic policies across countries.