The Long-Run Effects of Sports Club Vouchers for Primary School Children

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Marcus, Jan; Siedler, Thomas; Ziebarth, Nicolas R.
• 署名单位: IZA Institute Labor Economics; Free University of Berlin; University of Hamburg; Leibniz Association; DIW Berlin - Deutsches Institut fur Wirtschaftsforschung; University of Potsdam; IZA Institute Labor Economics; Cornell University; National Bureau of Economic Research; Leibniz Association; Zentrum fur Europaische Wirtschaftsforschung (ZEW)
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-ECONOMIC POLICY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7731
• DOI: 10.1257/pol.20200431
• 发表日期: 2022
• 页码: 128-165
• 关键词: physical-activity; childhood obesity; field experiment; habit formation; incentives; education; HEALTH; BEHAVIOR; IMPACT; Restaurants

摘要

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.