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The effects of incentives to exercise on student performance in college

Author

Listed:
  • Fricke, Hans
  • Lechner, Michael
  • Steinmayr, Andreas

Abstract

What are the effects of on-campus recreational sports and exercise on educational outcomes of university students? We randomize financial incentives to encourage students' participation in on-campus sports and exercise in two cohorts of college freshmen. Incentives increased participation frequency by 47% and improved grades by 0.14 standard deviations in the first cohort. The incentives were less effective in promoting participation and did not improve grades in the second cohort. In the first cohort, students primarily substituted off-campus with on campus physical activities and seemed more able to integrate exercising with studying. The incentives appear to have improved grades by enhancing the effectiveness of studying and encouraging students to spend more time in class.

Suggested Citation

  • Fricke, Hans & Lechner, Michael & Steinmayr, Andreas, 2018. "The effects of incentives to exercise on student performance in college," Munich Reprints in Economics 62839, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:lmu:muenar:62839
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Jan Marcus & Thomas Siedler & Nicolas R. Ziebarth, 2022. "The Long-Run Effects of Sports Club Vouchers for Primary School Children," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 14(3), pages 128-165, August.
    2. Laura Urgelles & Bernd Frick, 2022. "The Effects of Leisure Activities on Academic Performance," Working Papers Dissertations 88, Paderborn University, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics.
    3. Hans Fricke & Markus Frölich & Martin Huber & Michael Lechner, 2020. "Endogeneity and non‐response bias in treatment evaluation – nonparametric identification of causal effects by instruments," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(5), pages 481-504, August.
    4. Phipps, Aaron & Amaya, Alexander, 2023. "Are students time constrained? Course load, GPA, and failing," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 225(C).
    5. Daniel Boller & Michael Lechner & Gabriel Okasa, 2025. "The effect of sport in online dating: evidence from causal machine learning," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-13, December.
    6. Nick Huntington-Klein & Andrew Gill, 2021. "Semester Course Load and Student Performance," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 62(5), pages 623-650, August.
    7. Spika, Devon & Wickström Östervall, Linnea & Gerdtham, Ulf & Wengström, Erik, 2024. "Put a bet on it: Can self-funded commitment contracts curb fitness procrastination?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    8. Andrej Woerner & Giorgia Romagnoli & Birgit M. Probst & Nina Bartmann & Jonathan N. Cloughesy & Jan Willem Lindemans, 2025. "Should Individuals Choose Their Own Incentives? Evidence from a Mindfulness Meditation Intervention," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 71(8), pages 7056-7070, August.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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