Chapter 6 - The Institutional Dimension of the Sport Economy in Transition Countries

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to highlight institutional change in the sports economy during the transition period from the former communist centrally planned system to a market economy in Eastern European countries (EECs), in a broad sense including Central Eastern European countries (CEECs) and member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The whole Soviet-style system fell apart, and the break-up aff ected the entire economy, more precisely all sport organizations and the former institutional framework ruling both economic and sporting activities. Since the mid-1990s, economists have assessed the institutional transformation of transitional economies with an array of qualitative indicators, and to check whether the new rules are properly enforced through some governance indicators. The same methodology is carried out in this chapter to build up certain specifi c indicators of institutional change in the sports system and economy. Implementing these indicators results in a comparative evaluation of sports institutions’ transformations among EECs over time (from 1996 to 2004). Then, comparing sports institutions’ indicators to those indicators depicting institutional change in the overall economy and to governance indicators will allow for an assessment of the fi t between sports institutions and the institutional framework required by a well-functioning market economy.