The Long-Run Effects of Sports Club Vouchers for Primary School Children
American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
vol. 14,
no. 3, August 2022
(pp. 128-65)
Abstract
Childhood obesity is one of the most serious public health challenges of the twenty-first century. While small-scale experiments change behaviors among adults in the short run, we know little about the effectiveness of large-scale policies or the longer-run impacts. To nudge primary school children into a long-term habit of exercising, the German state of Saxony distributed sports club membership vouchers among all 33,000 third graders in 2009. In 2018, we carried out a register-based survey to evaluate the policy. 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. Apparently, membership vouchers for children are not a strong enough policy tool to overcome barriers to exercise regularly.Citation
Marcus, Jan, Thomas Siedler, and Nicolas R. Ziebarth. 2022. "The Long-Run Effects of Sports Club Vouchers for Primary School Children." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, 14 (3): 128-65. DOI: 10.1257/pol.20200431Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- H75 State and Local Government: Health; Education; Welfare; Public Pensions
- I12 Health Behavior
- I18 Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
- I21 Analysis of Education
- I28 Education: Government Policy
- J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
- Z21 Sports Economics: Industry Studies
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