Constructing a Composite Index of Sports Welfare: Application to the 17 Major Provinces and Cities in South Korea

Abstract

The term “sports welfare” has been widely used in South Korean society for over a decade. In contrast, the academic definition of it remains largely undefined, which led to inefficiency in the policies regarding sports welfare. This paper quantifies the degree of sports welfare on a first-level division basis by developing a composite index model through three rounds of Delphi surveys and an Analytic hierarchy process. 5 Key factors and 13 sub-factors were identified to composite the Index, and the index values were calculated by applying data collected from national sources. As a result, most “Do”s scored higher than “Si”s overall, while South Jeolla Do showed the highest (109.5) and Sejong Si showed the lowest (92.1). We expect the results to shed light on the concept of sports welfare and provide guidance on comparing the sports welfare level between regions.