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Heterogeneous Sports Participation and Labour Market Outcomes in England

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  • Lechner, Michael

    (University of St. Gallen)

  • Downward, Paul

    (Loughborough University)

Abstract

Based on a unique composite dataset measuring heterogeneous sports participation, labour market outcomes and local facilities provision, this paper examines for the first time the association between different types of sports participation on employment and earnings in England. Clear associations between labour market outcomes and sports participation are established through matching estimation whilst controlling for some important confounding factors. The results suggest a link between different types of sports participation to initial access to employment and then higher income opportunities with ageing. However, these vary between the genders and across sports. Specifically, the results suggest that team sports contribute most to employability, but that this varies by age across genders and that outdoor activities contribute most towards higher incomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Lechner, Michael & Downward, Paul, 2013. "Heterogeneous Sports Participation and Labour Market Outcomes in England," IZA Discussion Papers 7690, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7690
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    Cited by:

    1. Cabane, Charlotte & Hille, Adrian & Lechner, Michael, 2015. "Mozart or Pelé? The effects of teenagers’ participation in music and sports," Economics Working Paper Series 1509, University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science.
    2. Lechner, Michael & Sari, Nazmi, 2015. "Labor market effects of sports and exercise: Evidence from Canadian panel data," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 1-15.
    3. Mario Nosvelli, 2023. "Mens sana in corpore sano: the effects of sport on children’s learning in Italy," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 40(2), pages 703-729, July.
    4. Pawlowski, Tim & Steckenleiter, Carina & Wallrafen, Tim & Lechner, Michael, 2021. "Individual labor market effects of local public expenditures on sports," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    5. Marco Domizio & Elena Fabrizi, 2024. "Ask me if I am happy: sport practice and life satisfaction in Italy," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 58(6), pages 5865-5881, December.
    6. Pawlowski, Tim & Schüttoff, Ute & Downward, Paul & Lechner, Michael, 2014. "Sport participation and Child Development in Less Developed Countries," Economics Working Paper Series 1433, University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science.
    7. J. Celse, 2025. "Athletes vs. Musicians: Perceptions and Preferences in Workplace Social Programs," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 46(2), pages 1029-1039, March.
    8. Pawlowski, Tim & Schüttoff, Ute & Downward, Paul & Lechner, Michael, 2014. "Children’s skill formation in less developed countries – The impact of sports participation," Economics Working Paper Series 1412, University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science.
    9. Cabane Charlotte & Lechner Michael, 2015. "Physical Activity of Adults: A Survey of Correlates, Determinants, and Effects," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 235(4-5), pages 376-402, August.
    10. Thierry Kamionka, 2021. "Sporting Activity, Employment Status and Wage," Post-Print hal-03294084, HAL.
    11. Anna Makles & Kerstin Schneider, 2017. "Extracurricular educational programs and school readiness: evidence from a quasi-experiment with preschool children," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 52(4), pages 1181-1204, June.
    12. Pascal Izzicupo & Angela Di Baldassarre & Barbara Ghinassi & Ilvis Abelkalns & Ugis Bisenieks & Antonio Sánchez-Pato & Francisco José Cánovas-Alvarez & António J Figueiredo & Juan Alfonso García-Roca , 2022. "Exploring dual career quality implementation at European higher education institutions: Insights from university experts," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(11), pages 1-23, November.
    13. Martin Grossmann, 2021. "Asymmetric Opportunities After an Unsuccessful Sports Career," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 22(5), pages 587-612, June.
    14. Delavande, Adeline & Del Bono, Emilia & Holford, Angus, 2022. "Academic and non-academic investments at university: The role of expectations, preferences and constraints," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 231(1), pages 74-97.
    15. Lechner, Michael & Hille, Adrian & Cabane, Charlotte, 2015. "Mozart or Pelé? The effects of teenagers? participation in music and sports," CEPR Discussion Papers 10556, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    16. Sari, Nazmi & Lechner, Michael, 2015. "Long-run health effects of sports and exercise in Canada," Economics Working Paper Series 1520, University of St. Gallen, School of Economics and Political Science.
    17. Michael Lechner, 2015. "Sports, exercise, and labor market outcomes," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 126-126, February.
    18. 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.
    19. Hanna Nałęcz & Łukasz Skrok & Dawid Majcherek & Elżbieta Biernat, 2020. "Through Sport to Innovation: Sustainable Socio-Economic Development in European Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-16, December.
    20. Cabane, Charlotte & Hille, Adrian & Lechner, Michael, 2016. "Mozart or Pelé? The effects of adolescents' participation in music and sports," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 90-103.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    matching estimation; labour market; human capital; sports participation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • L83 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Sports; Gambling; Restaurants; Recreation; Tourism
    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models

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