Lockouts and Player Productivity: Evidence From the National Hockey League

We implement a propensity score matching technique to present the first evidence on the impact of professional sports lockouts on player productivity. In particular, we utilize a unique natural experiment from the 2012-2013 National Hockey League lockout, during which approximately 200 players decided to play overseas, while the rest stayed in North America. We separate players based on their nationality and investigate the effect of playing abroad on postlockout player performance. We find limited evidence of enhanced productivity among European players and no evidence of a benefit or drawback for North American players. Our study contributes to the understanding of lockouts in professional sports and the general discussion of labor disputes and worker productivity.