An inquiry into wage discrimination based on nationality: The case of the Korean Baseball Organization

This study analyzes wage discrimination in the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO). Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis was used to analyze panel data covering 775 first-team baseball players, teams' annual attendance, team records, and home city populations in the KBO from 2001 to 2010. The study results showed that wage discrimination based on nationality occurred in the KBO. Both foreign pitchers and foreign position players were paid significantly higher salaries than South Korean players with similar performance records. We also found that the number of foreign pitchers had a positive effect on the total number of annual attendees, which suggested the existence of consumer discrimination.