Fiscal, Economic, Health and Cultural Indicators Connected with the Development of Sport

Abstract

In the last century, sport has gradually shifted from a leisure activity to an economic sector. The implications are numerous, the relations with the economic and social life have developed enormously. The commercial relations that appeared around the sports activities led to the consolidation of some financial flows in relation to the sports equipment manufacturers, the governmental authorities, the written and audio-visual press. Our study assesses the relationship between the level of development of sport at national level and several economic, fiscal, cultural, and public health indicators for European countries. The data required for the estimates are collected from international institutions such as Eurostat, World Bank, World Health Organization, Global Association of International Sports Federations, and national sports institutions from the sampled countries. Bivariate analysis shows more or less strong correlations with the socio-economic indicators considered. However, these results can be altered by possible situations of multicollinearity that can cause confusion. In the multivariate analysis, hierarchical clustering indicates five behavioural types of countries in terms of the relationship between public and professional sport with macroeconomic aggregates.