It is widely acknowledged that engagement in sports, cultural and leisure activities benefits people’s well-being. However, what remains unclear is the monetary value of this contribution. For creating sustainable policies that withstand austerity measures, it is crucial to have a better understanding of the value of these activities. This scoping review provides the first overview of studies that estimate the value of leisure activities by using the Compensating Variation Approach exclusively. The purpose of the review is to identify methodological issues to detect knowledge gaps and to investigate the conduct of research. Records were retrieved from several scientific databases and Google Scholar. To analyze the results, all studies were summarized for country, scope, source, database, sample, measures, control variables, design, common bias and outcomes. The search resulted in eleven original studies of which five were commissioned reports delivered by academics. Important methodological issues were the diverse use of control and well-being variables and the endogeneity and selection biases that contributed to a wide range of monetary values. Because of the variability in their conduct, methodological standardization is required to reach a consensus on the contribution of sports, cultural and leisure activities to society.

Date: 2022-10-03 – 2022-12-02

Date Submitted: 2023-03-13