Does public spending on sports improve people’s health? Empirical evidence from China

Background Universal health is the foundation of human survival and a fundamental element for social and economic development. This study analyzes the theoretical basis of the impact of public sports expenditure on residents’ health, and based on the China Family Panel Studies data, uses a combination of macro and micro cross-sectional data to verify the relationship between public sports expenditure and residents’ health. It further explores the heterogeneous health effects of public sports expenditure from different groups’ perspectives. Methods The micro data of the families involved in the study selected the 2014/2016 data of the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) released by the China Social Science Survey Center of Peking University as the research sample. The Ordered Probit Model was used to analyze the impact effect of public sports expenditure on residents’ health. Results Firstly, public sports expenditure and mass sports expenditure can effectively improve residents’ health, but other types of expenditures did not show significant results. This result remained valid after a series of robustness tests. Secondly, the health effect of public sports expenditure is heterogeneous. It significantly improves the health of high-income groups, low-education level groups, older adult groups, and rural groups. Finally, based on the empirical results, this study proposes corresponding policy recommendations to provide policy implications for managers to improve the health levels of different groups. Conclusion This study finds that public sports expenditure has a positive impact on residents’ health, but the promotion effect of public sports expenditure on residents’ health levels still varies to some extent. Therefore, in the future, it is necessary to continue to improve sports infrastructure construction, expand the coverage of public sports venues and fitness facilities, and promote the open sharing of community and school sports facilities. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen the supply of sports services for different groups, and ultimately achieve the universalization of health promotion effects.