Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP6886
Authors: Michael Lechner
Abstract: This microeconometric study analyzes the effects of individual leisure sports participation on long-term labour market variables, on socio-demographic as well as on health and subjective well-being indicators for West Germany based on individual data from the German Socio-Economic Panel study (GSOEP) 1984 to 2006. Econometric problems due to individuals choosing their own level of sports activities are tackled by combining informative data and flexible semiparametric estimation methods with a specific way to use the panel dimension of the data. The paper shows that sports activities have sizeable positive long-term labour market effects in terms of earnings and wages, as well as positive effects on health and subjective well-being.
Keywords: Health; Labour Market; Leisure Sports; Matching Estimation; Panel Data
JEL Codes: C21; I12; I18; J24; L83
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| active participation in sports (Z22) | increase in earnings (J31) |
| active participation in sports (Z22) | increased health (I19) |
| increased health (I19) | increase in earnings (J31) |
| active participation in sports (Z22) | improved well-being (I31) |
| improved well-being (I31) | increase in earnings (J31) |