Who Attends Sporting Events? Evidence from Mexican Micro Data

Abstract

Applying probit in Mexican micro data we conclude that sporting event attendance is determined mostly by education, income, gender, employment, marital status, ethnic origin, urbanization, and age. Showing that education is so central in the decision to attend a sporting event in developing countries is perhaps the most distinctive feature of the study; highly educated people are seven times more likely to buy tickets to sporting events than those with little formal education. The data fit information criteria confirms the importance of education. These results reveal yet another mechanism through which education increases the wellbeing of society—by enabling individuals to spend their leisure time attending sporting events rather than exhibiting negative behaviors such as abusive drinking or illegal drug consumption. Household income presents a dichotomy: it is largely irrelevant for 75% of the households and very relevant for the richer ones. Finally, people who classify themselves as indigenous attend significantly fewer sporting events.