Are Former Professional Athletes and Native Better Coaches? Evidence From Spanish Basketball

This article analyzes the efficiency of coaches in the Top Spanish Basketball League and what determines this efficiency. To accomplish this, a stochastic production function is estimated. Among others, the inefficiency determinants considered are whether the coach is an ex-professional player and whether he is from Spain. The results demonstrate that foreign coaches are more efficient. To build upon these results, a new approach to estimate the efficiency of coaches, in which efficiency is obtained by comparing their performance with expectations attained from betting odds, is proposed. The results were principally reinforced.