Youth sports and the accumulation of human capital

Michael Leeds

IZA World of Labor, 2015, No 129, 129

Abstract: In response to declining budgets, many school districts in the US have reduced funding for sports. In Europe, parents may respond to difficult economic times by spending less on sports clubs for their children. Such cuts are unwise if participating in sports is an investment good as well as a consumption good and adds to students' human capital. The value of sports is hard to measure because people who already possess the skills needed to succeed in school and beyond might be more likely to participate in sports. Most studies that account for this endogeneity find that participation in youth sports improves academic and labor market performance.

Keywords: sports; human capital; cognitive skills; non-cognitive skills (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J24 L83 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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