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