Physical activity, leisure-time, cognition and academic grades: Connections and causal effects in Chinese students

Academic achievement and positive leisure activities are traditionally considered significant determinants of economic growth and human capital accumulation. This paper estimates the impact of physical activity on academic outcome and time allocation to 25 different types of leisure activity by Chin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of Asian economics Vol. 78; p. 101423
Main Authors Guan, Jing, Tena, J.D.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier Inc 01.02.2022
Subjects
Academic performance
Activity
Instrumental variables
Leisure-time activities
Physical
Structural equation models
Physical
I20
C36
Leisure-time activities
Academic performance
Z20
C38
Activity
Instrumental variables
Structural equation models
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Summary:Academic achievement and positive leisure activities are traditionally considered significant determinants of economic growth and human capital accumulation. This paper estimates the impact of physical activity on academic outcome and time allocation to 25 different types of leisure activity by Chinese adolescents. We use structural equation models (SEM) to explore the channels of this transmission. Our results suggest that physical exercise not only exerts a positive direct effect on academic outcome but also increases (decreases) students' time devoted to activities that are positively (negatively) correlated with academic outcome. All the effects are statistically significant but modest at the individual level. Our findings are robust to different exercise frequencies and academic outcome indicators based on students' self-assessment, academic scores, and cognitive tests.
ISSN:1049-0078
1873-7927
DOI:10.1016/j.asieco.2021.101423