Long-run labour market and health effects of individual sports activities

This microeconometric study analyzes the effects of individual leisure sports participation on long-term labour market variables, health and subjective well-being indicators for WestGermany based on individual data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (GSOEP) 1984-2006. 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. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.