<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p> In Europe in 2008 governments spent 36 billion Euro on sports subsidies. One of the main goals for spending public money on sports is to increase the participation of people in sports. Th e Czech Republic even spent more than average on sports. However, the participation in sports in this country lags behind the European average. Th is article investigates whether the way such grants are given can explain this. One of the outcomes of this paper is that transparency in the decision-making process in sports-grants allocation is lacking, resulting in many cases of fraud. Th is paper also investigates the merits of an alternative way of allocating money, which is, using sports vouchers as a tool for allocating public resources. Th e experience with that instrument is, although rare, quite positive, especially in reducing fraud. Although there is a lot of hesitance against using vouchers, the experience shows that this is primarily based on prejudice and unfamiliarity with this instrument.</p></abstract>

In Europe in 2008 governments spent 36 billion Euro on sports subsidies. One of the main goals for spending public money on sports is to increase the participation of people in sports. Th e Czech Republic even spent more than average on sports. However, the participation in sports in this country lags behind the European average. Th is article investigates whether the way such grants are given can explain this. One of the outcomes of this paper is that transparency in the decision-making process in sports-grants allocation is lacking, resulting in many cases of fraud. Th is paper also investigates the merits of an alternative way of allocating money, which is, using sports vouchers as a tool for allocating public resources. Th e experience with that instrument is, although rare, quite positive, especially in reducing fraud. Although there is a lot of hesitance against using vouchers, the experience shows that this is primarily based on prejudice and unfamiliarity with this instrument.

Municipal Grants for Sports and the Merits of a Voucher System in the Czech Republic

Assistant Professor, Department of Public Economics, Faculty of Economics and Administration, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic

Professor, Department of Management Sciences, Radboud University Nijmegen, The Netherlands

NISPAcee Journal of Public Administration and Policy

In Europe in 2008 governments spent 36 billion Euro on sports subsidies. One of the main goals for spending public money on sports is to increase the...

Municipal Grants for Sports and the Merits of a Voucher System in the Czech Republic

Published Online: Sep 07, 2013

Page range: 9 - 30

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/nispa-2013-0001

Keywords
Sports policy, grant, voucher system, transparency, subsidies

This content is open access.

Municipal Grants for Sports and the Merits of a Voucher System in the Czech Republic

Published Online: Sep 07, 2013

Page range: 9 - 30

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/nispa-2013-0001

KeywordsSports policy, grant, voucher system, transparency, subsidies

This content is open access.

Keywords
Sports policy, grant, voucher system, transparency, subsidies