The Effect of Economic Factors on Sport Performance of Selected Countries Participating in Summer Universiades (1999 – 2015)

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of economic indicators of countries on their performance in the summer Universiades (1999-2015). With a review of related literature, five variables of GDP, GDP per capita, inflation rate, GINI coefficient and unemployment rate were selected as the economic indicators of the countries. Data of independent variables were selected through the World Bank website. Medals earned by each country were also considered as sport performance, which were collected through FISU. The research method was descriptive-analytical and data were collected during 1999 to 2015 (during 9 courses of competitions). The statistical population included 97 countries and 69 countries were selected as the statistical sample. Firstly, Levin, Lin, and Chu test was used to examine the static data. Finally, econometric methods (unbalanced panel) were used to analyze the data. The results showed that among the identified economic factors, GDP, GDP per capita, inflation, and unemployment rate affected the performance of countries. Therefore, considering these factors, the sport authorities of Iran can apply the necessary plans for the success in university sport.