The Economics Of Sport, Health And Happiness

‘The reading of the book is stimulating and equally informative; engaging in sport activities appear to really matter for overall labour productivity market outcomes and the readers are told, individual life satisfaction is reportedly three times higher when participating in physical activity than happiness associated with employment. . . highly innovative and insightful, having the merit of filling a gap in the literature of the, yet under-researched, field of sports economics.’
– Constantin Oprean, Management of Sustainable Development

Including an array of distinguished contributors, this novel book fills a gap in the literature by addressing an important, yet under-researched, issue in the field of sports economics. It places great emphasis on the notion that sport is a significant component for improving the happiness, health and well-being of citizens, communities and society as a whole. In so doing, it addresses whether, in an environment of increasing pressure on public spending, governments should continue to subsidize sporting activities at the expense of other public resources.

Written in a clear and accessible style, this pioneering book explores a number of specific issues including:

• the relationship between sport and happiness
• the effect of sport on health, including the capacity of sport and exercise to reduce spending on medical expenses
• the relationship between sport and productivity
• whether sport as a leisure activity can improve quality of life.

Innovative and original, this volume will strongly appeal to students and researchers of sport, health and welfare economics.

Contents:

Introduction
Plácido Rodríguez, Stefan Késenne and Brad R. Humphreys

1. Participation in Physical Activity and Health Outcomes: Evidence from the Canadian Community Health Survey
Jane E. Ruseski and Brad R. Humphreys

2. An Economic Analysis of the Subjective Health and Well-being of Physical Activity
Paul Downward and Simona Rasciute

3. Physical Activity and Obesity in Spain: Evidence from the Spanish National Health Survey
Jaume García Villar, Sonia Oreffice and Climent Quintana-Domeque

4. Does Physical Exercise Affect Demand for Hospital Services? Evidence from Canadian Panel Data
Nazmi Sari

5. Leisure Sports Participation in Switzerland
Michael Lechner

6. Do Sporty People Have Access to Higher Job Quality?
Charlotte Cabane

7. Team Success, Productivity and Economic Impact
Michael C. Davis and Christian M. End

8. Sports Participation and Happiness: Evidence from US Micro Data
Haifang Huang and Brad R. Humphreys

9. Subjective Well-being and Engagement in Sport: Evidence from England
David Forrest and Ian G. McHale

10. High School Sports and Teenage Births
Joseph Price and Daniel H. Simon

11. Physical Activity and Subjective Well-being: An Empirical Analysis
Georgios Kavetsos

12. Sport Opportunities and Local Well-being: Is Sport a Local Amenity?
Tim Pawlowski, Christoph Breuer and Jorge Leyva

Index