Correlating Local Recreation Specialization to Prosperity: Study on European Union Countries

Abstract

The purpose of the present study is to assess, contrast and compare the degree of specialization of local recreation industries and to determine whether it exists a correlation between local recreation specialization and prosperity. To this end, the paper proposes an index for calculating the level of specialization of local recreation industries. This formula aggregates the influence of three major factors, namely the local recreation sector's contribution in GDP, the share of employment in the local recreation sector, and the share of government spending allocated to recreation within total government expenditure. The index was calculated for 11-European Union member states for the year 2011. Results showed that, within the sample, the most specialized countries in terms of local recreation services provision are the Czech Republic and Netherlands, whereas the lowest degree of specialization is registered in Romania and France. The regression analysis performed on the given sample showed a moderate correlation between local recreation specialization and prosperity. Notwithstanding the limitations imposed by the rather small sample on which this study was conducted, the findings open up new research avenues concerning the macroeconomics of recreation industries.