Inter-American Development Bank
facebook
twitter
youtube
linkedin
instagram
Abierto al públicoBeyond BordersCaribbean Development TrendsCiudades SosteniblesEnergía para el FuturoEnfoque EducaciónFactor TrabajoGente SaludableGestión fiscalGobernarteIdeas MatterIdeas que CuentanIdeaçãoImpactoIndustrias CreativasLa Maleta AbiertaMoviliblogMás Allá de las FronterasNegocios SosteniblesPrimeros PasosPuntos sobre la iSeguridad CiudadanaSostenibilidadVolvamos a la fuente¿Y si hablamos de igualdad?Home
Citizen Security and Justice Creative Industries Development Effectiveness Early Childhood Development Education Energy Envirnment. Climate Change and Safeguards Fiscal policy and management Gender and Diversity Health Labor and pensions Open Knowledge Public management Science, Technology and Innovation  Trade and Regional Integration Urban Development and Housing Water and Sanitation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Ideas Matter

  • HOME
  • CATEGORIES
    • Behavioral Economics
    • Environment and Climate Change
    • Macroeconomics and Finance
    • Microeconomics and Competitiveness
    • Politics and Institutions
    • Social Issues
  • Authors
  • Spanish
Sports programs can improve lives if they are well-designed and evaluated

Sports can transform lives if we do it right

June 14, 2018 by Carlos Scartascini Leave a Comment


Soccer fans throughout Latin America will be glued to their televisions in June and July, basking in the excitement and pride that come with belonging to a region famed for its brilliance at the World Cup.

But it’s not just about elite athletes. Since at least the days of the ancient Greeks, societies have understood that sports can make citizens healthier and happier. They keep our minds and bodies in shape. They serve as a social glue. They help young people hone life skills and in certain circumstances even reduce crime.

Unfortunately, far too few Latin Americans actually play sports. For all the region’s athletic genius, adolescents and adults in Latin America and the Caribbean do less physical exercise than the global average and less than people in Europe or Africa. As a result, almost one in four adults in Latin America and the Caribbean is obese (a body mass index of 30% fat or more), and adult and child obesity are increasing faster than in other parts of the world.

Sports can lower healthcare costs

But fighting obesity is not all that sports can do.Physical exercise can lead to less heart disease, stroke, cancer and depression, as well as better overall cognitive health. That, in turn, can mean higher productivity, fewer sick days and lower healthcare costs for society. Being sedentary is neither good for us individually nor for society as a whole.

What can be done? Surprisingly, government spending on sports in the region stands at only around 0.1% of GDP, about one-third of the amount spent by European nations. Given all the advantages of sports, shouldn’t we invest more?

It’s a hard question to answer. Money allotted to sports facilities means fewer resources for other urgent development priorities, such as building roads or hiring teachers. So to avoid wasting precious resources and get all the societal benefits, we need to figure out what sports programs deliver the most bang for the buck. We have to design programs that can be evaluated for their effectiveness and better evaluate those programs already in place.

Sports to reduce crime

The gains could be huge, including in important areas of social life. Sports programs can strengthen social relationships by bringing people from different backgrounds together. They can give otherwise wayward kids alternative outlets and help them develop a healthy sense of self as well as discipline and ability to work in teams. All of this can result in less crime, as well as academic and labor market success.

In Europe, for example, research has shown that active sports are correlated with increased earnings of around 1,200 euros, compared to no or very little sports activity. Though the cause of that effect is not entirely clear, it comes out to an extraordinary rate of return of 5%-10%, on a par with an additional year of schooling.

Sports can help countries in Latin America grow and develop in various areas

Consider also initiatives like A Ganar, one of many sports-for-development programs for at-risk youth supported by the Inter-American Development Bank and its partners in the region. A Ganar combines sports activities with life-skills training, market-based vocational technical training, and internships for some 12,000 youth in 11 countries. Not only do 70% of participants graduate from the program. Over 65% of graduates secure formal employment, return to school, or start a business within one year.

The dangers of unstructured sports activities

Nonetheless, researchers in Sweden found that youth recreation centers with unstructured activities sometimes end up being gathering places for troublesome kids, corrupting newcomers and encouraging high risk behavior. And other evidence suggests sports can foment peer pressure and even lead to the creation of gangs. By contrast, highly-structured sports activities, with skill-building opportunities and strong relationships between students, coaches and other mentors, may foster real mental, emotional and physical growth.

The secret to get the best out of sports in this context may lie in starting small with pilot projects and expanding programs only once evaluations have shown which ones are effective. A certain amount of testing and data collection is essential.

At the IDB, we’ve seen this up close. We’ve expanded multifaceted sports-for-development programs across Latin America and the Caribbean to provide marginalized youth with the tools they need to take advantage of social and economic opportunities.

As people from Latin America and the Caribbean fan out across Russia for the World Cup this year, cheering on five-time winner Brazil or any of the other seven Latin American teams with a shot at the trophy, it’s worth keeping in mind that such efforts in the region’s sports programs have worked to produce the abilities of our world-famous soccer stars.

It’s most importantly, however, about lesser mortals like ourselves. Latin America and the Caribbean can harness the thrill, discipline and bonding that sports encourages to improve social outcomes and escape the potentially devastating consequences of idleness in ill-health for virtually everyone in society. We just need to invest the time and thought into designing and implementing projects well.

 Depite its superstars in the soccer world cup, Latin America doesn't exercise enough. Find out more!


Filed Under: #Skills, Social Issues Tagged With: #Caribbean, #crime, #exercise, #LatAm, #obesity, #sports, #WorldCup

Carlos Scartascini

Carlos Scartascini is Head of the Development Research Group at the Research Department and Leader of the Behavioral Economics Group of the Inter-American Development Bank. He has published eight books and more than 60 articles in academic journals and edited volumes. He is a member of the Executive Committee of IDB's Gender and Diversity Lab, member of the Board of Advisors of the Master of Behavioral and Decision Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, Associate Editor of the academic journal Economía, and Founding Member of LACEA's BRAIN (Behavioral Insights Network). A native of Argentina, Dr. Scartascini holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. in Economics from George Mason University.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Follow Us

Subscribe

Search

Related posts

  • Failing to Exercise in a Region of World Cup Stars
  • Sports Programs Can Boost Solidarity and Strengthen Societies
  • Crime, Inequality and the Rio Olympics
  • Latin America Confronts Obesity
  • Why Are Latin Americans Happier than Their GDP Would Suggest?

About this blog

The blog of the IDB's Research Department shares ideas that matter on public policy and development in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Footer

Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo
facebook
twitter
youtube
youtube
youtube

    Blog posts written by Bank employees:

    Copyright © Inter-American Development Bank ("IDB"). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons IGO 3.0 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. (CC-IGO 3.0 BY-NC-ND) license and may be reproduced with attribution to the IDB and for any non-commercial purpose. No derivative work is allowed. Any dispute related to the use of the works of the IDB that cannot be settled amicably shall be submitted to arbitration pursuant to the UNCITRAL rules. The use of the IDB's name for any purpose other than for attribution, and the use of IDB's logo shall be subject to a separate written license agreement between the IDB and the user and is not authorized as part of this CC- IGO license. Note that link provided above includes additional terms and conditions of the license.


    For blogs written by external parties:

    For questions concerning copyright for authors that are not IADB employees please complete the contact form for this blog.

    The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IDB, its Board of Directors, or the countries they represent.

    Attribution: in addition to giving attribution to the respective author and copyright owner, as appropriate, we would appreciate if you could include a link that remits back the IDB Blogs website.



    Privacy Policy

    Copyright © 2025 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

    Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo

    Aviso Legal

    Las opiniones expresadas en estos blogs son las de los autores y no necesariamente reflejan las opiniones del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, sus directivas, la Asamblea de Gobernadores o sus países miembros.

    facebook
    twitter
    youtube
    This site uses cookies to optimize functionality and give you the best possible experience. If you continue to navigate this website beyond this page, cookies will be placed on your browser.
    To learn more about cookies, click here
    X
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT