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The sports industry as an engine of economic growth: A financial development perspective

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  • Hu, Rongjiao
  • Yang, Xingci
  • Xu, Ze

Abstract

This paper investigates how the sports industry drives economic growth in China and examines the moderating role of financial development, particularly overall financial scale and green finance orientation. Using balanced panel data from 31 provinces spanning 2010 to 2023, we construct a multidimensional index capturing high-quality economic development and employ two-way fixed effects models to assess direct impacts, moderating mechanisms, and regional variations. The results demonstrate that the sports industry significantly improves economic structure, stimulates innovation, advances environmental sustainability, and enhances social welfare. Financial development emerges as a critical amplifier: a larger financial scale expands capital access for sports enterprises, while greener financial structures provide sustainability-aligned funding for sports-related initiatives. Subsample analysis shows considerably stronger positive effects in green finance pilot provinces, underscoring the importance of supportive policy frameworks. Robustness tests using alternative measures and estimation techniques confirm the consistency of our findings. This study advances sport economics and endogenous growth literature by demonstrating how sport–finance synergies promote sustainable regional development, offering policy insights into leveraging financial innovation and institutional support to unlock the growth potential of the sports industry.

Suggested Citation

  • Hu, Rongjiao & Yang, Xingci & Xu, Ze, 2026. "The sports industry as an engine of economic growth: A financial development perspective," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:100:y:2026:i:c:s1544612326000668
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2026.109535
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