Does European regional competitiveness influence sports? an analysis of three sports

Abstract

The main objective of this work was to test European regional determinants of sports competitiveness. We studied competitiveness in volleyball, basketball and handball. We developed a theoretical model based on the model proposed by Bernard and Busse (2004) to analyse the effect of regional institutions and sport environments that can interfere with sports competitiveness. To test our model, we constructed an enlarged database for all European NUTS2 since 1995, which we analysed using panel data techniques (censored Tobit models). Our results reveal that the regions that are able to maintain player performance do so by persistent effort and external influences. These factors contribute more to regional competitiveness than a region’s central location or political prominence.