Determinants of club membership: An economic approach

The sociological and economic literature of clubs is extended by the examination of the economic determinants of individuals' club memberships, not only in the aggregate, but also by club type. An explanation of the relationship between the classification of club types to complementary and substitute uses of time and to the differential effects of own income and wealth is attempted. The analysis divides clubs into the 3 broad categories of child clubs, leisure clubs, and work clubs and a 4th aggregative category of any club, which measures membership in any kind of organization in any of the categories. The results show that membership in child clubs is positively related to education, additional family income, spouse's work hours, and number of children. Membership in leisure clubs is positively related to education and additional family income and negatively related to unsociability and to being female. Major differences between the sexes are seen in work club membership; holding all other factors constant, men are more likely to join work clubs than women.