Working Paper: NBER ID: w28819
Authors: Jan Marcus; Thomas Siedler; Nicolas R. Ziebarth
Abstract: Starting in 2009, the German state of Saxony distributed sports club membership vouchers among all 33,000 third graders in the state. The policy’s objective was to encourage them to develop a long-term habit of exercising. In 2018, we carried out a large register-based survey among several cohorts in Saxony and two neighboring states. Our difference-indifferences estimations show that, even after a decade, awareness of the voucher program was significantly higher in the treatment group. We also find that youth received and redeemed the vouchers. However, we do not find significant short- or long-term effects on sports club membership, physical activity, overweightness, or motor skills.
Keywords: sports club vouchers; physical activity; childhood obesity; policy evaluation
JEL Codes: H71; I12; I14; I18; I28; I38; Z28
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| sports club voucher program (Z23) | awareness of the program among treated children (I24) |
| sports club voucher program (Z23) | sports club membership (Z20) |
| sports club voucher program (Z23) | physical activity levels (I14) |
| sports club voucher program (Z23) | overweightness (I14) |
| sports club voucher program (Z23) | motor skills (G53) |