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Alex Cardazzi

@acardazzi.bsky.social

econ phd; assistant prof @ odu

Alex Cardazzi @acardazzi.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

Enduring Terror: The Effects of the Boston Marathon Bombing on Competitive Performance (w/ Zach Rodriguez) Comments welcome! dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn...

The 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing was the largest domestic terrorist attack in the U.S. since the September 11 attacks. We ask how direct experience of this terrorist attack influences performance and participation in future competitive environments. Our results indicate that exposed marathon runners suffer reductions in future performances both at Boston and at other major marathon events by approximately nine minutes. We find that these reductions in speed hinder runners’ ability to qualify for future races, lowering participation among affected runners in subsequent Boston Marathons by nearly 10 percentage points. We also estimate persistent performance declines for finishers relative to runners who were not at the 2013 Marathon. Finally, our findings are robust to a placebo test that assigns a fictitious bombing to another marathon year, for which we find no comparable effects. Our results contribute to a growing literature on the direct effects of terrorism on economic and behavioral outcomes, and underscores the need for long-term health services, given the lasting and measurable effects on victims.

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Reposted by Alex Cardazzi

Zach Porreca @zachporreca.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

Happy to share a new working paper with Alex Cardazzi and Victoria Biagi, a wonderful grad student at University of Liverpool. Here's a quick thread. (1/N)

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