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Interscholastic Athletics and Investment in Human Capital

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  • Michael A. Leeds
  • Cristen Miller
  • Judith Stull

Abstract

Objectives. Several studies, such as Hoberman (1997) and Leeds (2003), have claimed that success in the athletic arena has distorted the human capital decisions of young black men. We test this hypothesis by determining how participation in interscholastic athletics affects the study habits of black and white youths. Methods. We build a theoretical model that allows youths to invest in athletic or academic human capital. We test this model using data from the National Educational Longitudinal Survey and accounting for possible self‐selection bias. Results. We find that athletic participation does not have a statistically significant impact on the amount of time young black men and women spend studying. The impact for young white men and women is positive and significant, though the impact of playing football and basketball does have a negative impact for young white men. Conclusions. Participating in interscholastic athletics does not have the pervasive negative impact on young black men that Hoberman (1997) and Leeds (2003) claim. The expected negative impact of basketball and football—the so‐called money sports—exists for young white men, though this is offset by the positive impact of participation in athletics per se.

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  • Michael A. Leeds & Cristen Miller & Judith Stull, 2007. "Interscholastic Athletics and Investment in Human Capital," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 88(3), pages 729-744, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:88:y:2007:i:3:p:729-744
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6237.2007.00480.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Michael A. Leeds, 2015. "Youth sports and the accumulation of human capital," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 129-129, February.
    2. Néstor Gandelman, 2009. "Selection Biases in Sports Markets," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 10(5), pages 502-521, October.
    3. Judith Stull, 2013. "Individual decision-making in a social context: the sociological determinants of female sports participation," Chapters, in: Eva Marikova Leeds & Michael A. Leeds (ed.), Handbook on the Economics of Women in Sports, chapter 3, pages 56-70, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    4. Ransom, Michael R. & Ransom, Tyler, 2017. "Do High School Sports Build or Reveal Character?," IZA Discussion Papers 11110, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Ransom, Michael R & Ransom, Tyler, 2018. "Do high school sports build or reveal character? Bounding causal estimates of sports participation," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 75-89.

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