Welcome to my Website

David Butler

Senior Lecturer in Economics University College Cork

I am currently a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in the Department of Economics at University College Cork (UCC), where I serve as Co-Director of the Centre for Sports Economics and Law. My research is in applied microeconomics with a focus on sports economics and the intersection of economics and psychology.

I have been fortunate to collaborate with many excellent colleagues, and together our work has appeared in a variety of internationally recognised and high-ranking journals. Alongside my academic research, I have contributed to a range of advisory and consultancy projects for both industry and public organisations.

Presently, I serve as Deputy Head of Learning and Teaching in the College of Business and Law, bringing fifteen years of experience lecturing, assessing, and supervising students across a suite of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Finance, Commerce/Business Studies, and (Liberal) Arts.

For queries relating to research, supervision, and consulting/advisory please contact me directly.

Butler, Butler & Singleton (2026) Do Professionals Choke in the Face of Pressure and Distraction?’

Butler, Butler & Singleton (2025) ‘Objective Calls in the Spotlight: Referee Consistency on Football’s Biggest Stage’

Butler, Butler, Farnell & Simmons (2024). COVID-19 and Short-Run Worker Performance: Evidence from European Football’

Education

Doctoral – PhD, Warwick University, England

Postgraduate – PG Cert in Social Science Research, Warwick University, England

Postgraduate – PG Cert in Teaching and Learning – UCC, Ireland.

Postgraduate – Masters in Economic Science (MEconSc) – UCC, Ireland

Undergraduate – Bachelor of Commerce Degree majoring in Economics (BComm) – UCC, Ireland. Graduated Summa Cum Laude

Other Recent Outputs

Butler, R., Butler, D & Gaine.B (2025) ‘Folk Beliefs and Fast Thinking: An Empirical Test of the Coffin Trap in Greyhound Racing’, Review of Behavioral Economics

Butler, D., Butler, R. (2024). The Baby Club – Paternity and Performance in a High-Pressure Setting, Kyklos

McCarthy, C., Butler, D., Butler, R., Bradfield, T., (2024). ‘CO2 Emissions from Air Travel at Major Football Tournaments, European Sport Management Quarterly

Butler, D., Farnell, A., Simmons, R. ‘Do Sports Analytics Affect Footballer Pay?’ (2024) Frontiers in Behavioral Economics

I was recently interviewed by the Economist newspaper about trends in pay for star footballers. The article can be read here.

Coverage of my joint work on the history and evolution of football shirts was recently covered by the Irish National Broadcaster (RTE) and can be read here.

Our recent Journal of Sports Economics paper on additional time was covered in the Conversation here