The Center for International Development at Harvard University in cooperation with Anet Weterings from the PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency is preparing a publication which investigates the sports cluster in the industry space. This blog highlights some of the findings of this study. This research is part of an ongoing collaboration with the International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS).
Any casual observer of the Olympics, the World Cup, or European professional soccer knows that the world of sport is big business. Expensive stadiums and massive player transfer fees suggest that there is an economic dimension to sport. However, the exact mechanisms through which sport influences other sectors in the broader economy are less clear. The industry space is one technique through which we can better understand these connections. It is a methodology that illustrates the industrial structure of a given geographic area by emphasizing the linkages between economic activities. Economic sectors are connected in the industry space if they possess similar characteristics such as human capital, natural resources, or value chain linkages. If we can locate sport within the industry space, we can hope to better understand how the economic aspects of sport spillover to other sectors.... Read more about Understanding the Economics of Sport through the Industry Space Methodology