Social and Economic Factors of Sports Activity in Russian Regions

International audienceIn this study, the key factors of sports activity in the Russian regions were identified and substantiated. The regional panel data for the period 2007-2017 was used as data for the study. It is shown that traditional material factors are highly significant in models for assessing the level of sports activity in the Russian regions. These include, in particular, the following indicators: the one-time carrying capacity of sports facilities, the per capita expenditures for physical culture and sports development, the number of sports facilities per 100 thousand people, the number of full-time physical culture and sports personnel per capita. Consequently, forecasting based on them will give a stable and reliable result. Along with the evidence of the significance of the material factors of sports activity, a justification of the influence of a number of intangible, institutional factors is given. Such factors include the awareness about the benefits of systematic physical education and sports, institutions of public encouragement and support for those involved in sports and physical culture, etc