ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of some of the major resourcing issues in relation to the development of sport in recent times. It outlines key concepts to help understand the commercial, public and voluntary sectors of the UK economy. Particular attention is paid to the economic impact of volunteering as well as to the impact of National Lottery funding on sports development and sports facilities. It is no easy task to measure and assess the value of sports resources as they include tangential material resources such as capital and revenue, as well as less tangential human resources such as time, expertise and physical effort. The dominant paradigm for such measurement has its roots deeply embedded in the discipline of economics which has over time developed theories to explain changes in the supply and demand for goods and services and so understand the crucial role of the equilibrium price mechanism and primarily price elasticity in directing and monitoring production and consumption. As classical liberal economics has it, the individual behaves as a rational consumer. He or she makes choices in the market place to maximise satisfaction when consuming goods and services whilst firms seek to maximise profits. In a capitalist economy sport is no exception.
