Determinants of Individual Consumption on Sports Attendance in Spain, pp. 204-221

Fernando Lera-López
Manuel Rapún-Gárate
María José Suárez

This paper aims to contribute to the knowledge regarding individual consumption on sports attendance—a subject that has been rarely analyzed in the economic literature due to the lack of appropriate databases. Specifically, we analyze the determinants of sports attendance consumption using Spanish survey data, assuming that the consumption decision is derived from the attendance decision. In the empirical analysis, we estimate the consumption equation in reduced form, applying a Tobit model with selectivity—a special case of double-hurdle models. The data for this study came from a Spanish survey, with the financial support of the Spanish High Council for Sport, carried out in 2007 on a sample of 640 adults. This survey contained detailed information about sports attendance, including associated expenditure data, at amateur and professional sporting events. The results reveal a strong correlation between attendance and spending, and they demonstrate the role of household income and demographic variables, such as gender and educational level, in explaining passive sports consumption.