An In-Depth Look at Region I: Wealth

According to the the authors of Soccernomics, a region's population, wealth, and soccer-playing experience are the three most important criteria to consider when judging the state of soccer in that region.

Today, I've posted the wealth for each state that makes up Region I, which is the U.S. Youth Soccer Association (USYSA) region to which Maine's soccer teams belong. Gross State Product (GSP) refers to the total value of goods and services bought and sold within a state's borders in one year, and GSP per capita refers to the value of goods and services bought and sold per person within a state's borders in one year.

According to the statistical analysis of the authors of Soccernomics, journalist Simon Kuper and economist Stefan Szymanski, a country whose wealth is twice that of its opponent has a 1/10 goal advantage over its opponent. Or, to put it another way, a country whose wealth is twice that of its opponent would have a one goal headstart in one every ten games against that opponent. Presumably, that advantage would increase if the states' population ratio is greater than 2:1.

Now, I'm not entirely sure if such an advantage should be discounted or magnified on the state level here in the United States (the authors' research focused on the results of international matches played between 1980 and 2001), but it is nevertheless interesting to say how Maine matches up against the states in its immediate competitive sphere.

(Editor's Note: Click on the chart below to enlarge it.)

The median Gross State Product (GSP) per capita of the 13 Region I states is $38,800. To put that number into some international context, the Netherlands is the only country who qualified for the 2010 World Cup that has a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita higher than Region I's median wealth. The range for the other World Cup-qualifying countries is $38,500 (Australia) to $1,700 (Ivory Coast).

- John C.L. Morgan

Related: An In-Depth Look at Region I: Population (March 1, 2010)