A comparative analysis of the efficiency of public funding policies for sports in the European Union

Abstract

This study examines the technical efficiency of sports funding policies in the European Union countries. It aims to identify the efficiency of European countries in achieving two public policy objectives for sports: supporting the population’s sporting activities and promoting sports representation, which is expressed by international sporting success. Additionally, the study aims to identify any statistical outliers within this group. Data envelopment analysis was chosen as the main method. The results indicate that most European Union countries are inefficient, and no statistical outliers were identified among the group of efficient countries. This study has the potential to support public policy decision-making related to funding sports.