Open AccessDoes a country’s income inequality affect its citizens’ quest for equality in leisure? Evidence from European men’s football
Author(s) -
Nicolas Scelles,
François Avril
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
economics and business letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.197
H-Index - 4
ISSN - 2254-4380
DOI - 10.17811/ebl.10.2.2021.133-139
Subject(s) - football , stadium , league , inequality , economics , affect (linguistics) , economic inequality , attendance , demographic economics , balance (ability) , labour economics , sports economics , political science , sociology , economic growth , psychology , law , mathematical analysis , physics , geometry , mathematics , communication , astronomy , neuroscience
Does a country’s income inequality affect its citizens’ quest for equality in leisure? To answer this question, the letter investigates the impact of competitive balance on fan demand (stadium attendance) in European men’s football over the 2006-18 period, splitting leagues into groups depending on their country’s income inequality. Competitive balance has a significant negative impact on stadium attendance in countries with lowest income inequality and a significant positive impact in countries with highest income inequality and the whole sample. Findings suggest that, in leisure, European football fans look for the (in)equality their national economy does not offer.