What role can sport and the mountains play in the economic and social development of the country today? And what legacy can the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina leave beyond the event itself? This issue of the Journal of Economic Policy, which proposes an integrated reading of the economy of sport and the transformations of mountain areas, placing them at the centre of the great contemporary challenges. The objective is ambitious: to analyse sport as a cultural, social and productive factor and, at the same time, to reflect on the new development trajectories of the Italian mountains, without claiming to be exhaustive but with a systemic outlook.

The picture that emerges is that of a dynamic and multidimensional sector. Sport is configured as a global public good, capable of generating economic value, collective identity and social well-being. The sports supply chain appears as a complex ecosystem, in which infrastructure, manufacturing, tourism and international events act as levers of territorial competitiveness. Italy shows significant strengths, especially in the export of sports goods and event-related tourism, but it suffers from an undersized public investment and an infrastructural delay compared to its main European partners, aggravated by administrative and financial constraints.

The Winter Olympics represent a decisive test case in this context. If well planned, major events can leave a lasting legacy in terms of territorial regeneration, social cohesion and sustainable development, especially in mountain areas. It is precisely the latter that appear to be marked by structural fragility, but also rich in potential: natural and cultural resources, new forms of entrepreneurship, qualified human capital and opportunities linked to climate and digital transition. Overcoming the alternative between hypertourism and marginalisation means recognising mountains as a competitive territory, complementary to urban areas.

Taken together, the contributions in this volume converge on a clear thesis: sport and mountains are not marginal sectors, but strategic junctions for a more balanced, resilient and inclusive development. Provided they are supported by effective governance, targeted policies and a long-term vision capable of transforming events, investments and social changes into lasting assets for the country.

• This article treats sport as a unique cultural asset that spans the planet, synthesising insights into its character as a public good, economic footprint, technological co-evolution and sociopolitical resonance. The article argues that, like other cultural forms based on human and social capital and bearing economic outcomes, sport offers a complex mix of tangible and intangible returns whose measurement requires hybrid frameworks that integrate cost-benefit analysis, computable general equilibrium modelling, contingent valuation and legacy accounting. Sport has evolved from a simple recreational activity into a powerful economic and social driver. Today it represents a transversal sector capable of generating significant benefits on several levels: economic, health, educational and relational. The direct and indirect economic value of sport, its effects on public health and its impact on social cohesion make it a strategic tool for sustainable growth and collective well-being.

JEL Classification: Z20, Z21, H41.
Keywords: sport, events, games, cultural heritage, values.nite, forward-looking and capable of facing global challenges.

• The concept of competitiveness, traditionally anchored to economic-productive metrics, is evolving towards a broader and more integrated vision, in which social infrastructures and, in particular, sports facilities assume a strategic role not only for quality of life and social cohesion, but also for territorial attractiveness. Large facilities, such as stadiums and multifunctional arenas, contribute to improving the international positioning of a city or country, catalysing events, tourist flows, investments.
• The evolution of sports venues into multifunctional hubs, integrated into urban and economic development processes, has generated growing interest from institutional investors, who recognise them as an emerging asset class with high potential, due to their ability to generate diversified and scalable revenues, their integration with highly profitable sectors - such as media, entertainment and real estate - and their contribution in urban regeneration operations.
• Italy is unable to fully grasp the opportunities offered by the dynamics of the sports market, due to a structural delay in the renewal of its infrastructure assets, with an obsolete fleet of facilities, projects focused on small-scale interventions and authorisation procedures that slow down investment. Overcoming these critical issues requires an integrated approach, combining public and private resources, simplifying procedures and promoting professional management models, with the support of innovative financial instruments and targeted policies aimed at transforming sports infrastructures into enabling levers for sustainable and competitive development of the country.

JEL Classification: R11, R53, L83, L92, I31, G23, O18.
Keywords: territorial competitiveness, urban regeneration, sport, social infrastructure, sustainable finance.

• This article offers a taxonomy to measure the contribution of sports goods to world and Italian exports by distinguishing two components: the core, which includes all those categories of goods directly related to sports use, and the broad, which includes products not exclusively for sports use. For the core part, we also offer a subdivision into sectors that directly reflect the main disciplines.
• The taxonomy is used not only to enhance the relevance of sport in international trade (128 billion euros for the core part) and the weight it represents on Italian products (equal to just under 4.7 billion euros), but also to calculate its further development potential (approximately 650 million additional exports for the core product categories). Competitiveness and quality metrics enrich the analysis to outline the performance and prospects of Italian exports of sports goods.
• The results show a pronounced heterogeneity in pricing strategies between the different sectors. In sectors such as hunting and fishing, cycling and its components, ball sports, racquet sports and winter sports, a scale competitiveness-oriented approach prevails, with lower average prices than in France, Germany and Spain. In contrast, sectors such as supplements and related (+57%), sports boating (+35%), water sports (+31%) and fitness (+27%) are characterised by a clear premium positioning, with significantly higher unit values.
• By jointly analysing information on export potential and quality level, one can identify those sports products on which it may be easier to focus in order to increase Italian export shares: bicycle components, men's costumes, smooth-bore sports rifles, sports footwear, winter sports clothing and equipment, and men's suits.

JEL Classification: F13, F14, F17.
Keywords: export, sport, competitiveness, quality, potential.

• Sport has established itself as a strategic driver for tourism, capable of deseasonalising flows, strengthening the identity of territories and generating new opportunities for competitive positioning. From major international events to thematic experiences such as the Motor Valley, sport enriches the tourist offer by becoming a highly attractive experiential and cultural component.
• With an estimated turnover of more than EUR 12 billion in 2024 and around 42 million presences, sports tourism is today one of the most dynamic sectors of the national sports system. Sport tourists, both active and spectators, show above-average spending behaviour and a growing sensitivity towards sustainability, digitisation and authentic experience.
• Events such as the Olympics, Ryder Cup or America's Cup act as catalysts for infrastructure investment, innovation and territorial promotion, with lasting effects on employment, international attractiveness and urban regeneration. Legacy becomes crucial to transform the event into sustainable development.
• For Italy to become a European sports tourism hub, integrated governance, coordination of the public-private chain and policies oriented towards infrastructure, digitalisation and sustainability are needed.
• Sports tourism is destined to consolidate itself as an instrument of long-term economic, social and cultural development.

JEL Classification: Z32, L83, O18, R11, Q01.
Keywords: tourism, sport, sports tourism, major events, Olympics,
Milan Cortina 2026, Turin 2006, Ryder Cup 2023 Rome, America's Cup 2027, Paris 2024, Giro d'Italia, Motor Valley, sustainability, deseasonalisation, experience, legacy, territorial attractiveness, integrated governance, Strategic Tourism Plan 2023/2027, millennials, Gen Z.

• Size and dynamics of public expenditure on sport: in 2022, public expenditure on sport and recreational services in our country amounts to EUR 5.2 billion at current prices, which corresponds to a per capita expenditure of EUR 88.2. This is a share of 0.48% of total public expenditure and 0.27% of gross domestic product. Eurostat data show that compared to our per capita public expenditure in 2022 of EUR 88.2, France spends EUR 215.8, Spain EUR 126.5 and Germany EUR 119.3.
• The composition of public expenditure on sport: current and capital expenditure. Over the twenty-two years under consideration, expenditure on sports and recreational services averaged 78% in current expenditure and 22% in capital expenditure. The latter recorded a maximum in 2004, with EUR 1.3 billion, and a minimum in 2014, with EUR 489 million. This predominance of current expenditure over capital expenditure is even greater in 2022, with expenditure for the 84% split between current expenditure (4.381 billion) and capital expenditure for the 16% (824 million).
• Expenditure on sport in the programmes of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers: In the in-depth study of PCM expenditure, the expenditure related to the PCM Mission 30 Youth and Sport and the expenditure classified in COFOG 8.1.1, sport and recreational services, was assessed, regardless of the mission and programme of reference.

JEL Classification: H52, H75, Z28.
Keywords: sports and recreational services, public sports spending, economic policy, public investment, current spending, capital spending.

• The 1956 Winter Olympics were the first major event organised in Italy after the war and their importance went far beyond Cortina and sport.
• The economic-financial impact of the Games was not substantial, except at the city level, and in any case the revenue was much less than the expenses incurred by CONI (with Totocalcio proceeds) and the municipality (with state funding).
• On the other hand, the legacy has been considerable, in terms of both material benefits (infrastructure, sports and network sectors) and immaterial benefits (Cortina's image and attractiveness).
• Large Italian companies, in particular Fiat and Olivetti, as well as the most representative industrial districts in the Belluno area (eyewear and sports equipment), were protagonists of the Games, as suppliers of goods and services, in protoforms of sponsorships.

JEL Classification: Z2, Z3, N0.
Keywords: Olympics, Cortina d'Ampezzo, major events, 1956.

• The socio-economic characteristics of Italian mountain territories are outlined, analysed region by region. These territories, which cover 35.2% of the national surface area, are analysed by paying particular attention to demographic aspects, to the distribution and qualitative-quantitative evolution of enterprises, as well as to the progressive reduction of basic services. A picture of fragility emerges, which nevertheless also reveals potential levers for regeneration.
• The economic context is analysed by highlighting the criticality of traditional production sectors, which is accompanied, also in the mountains, by a progressive tertiarisation of the economy; the limited attractiveness for investment of traditional sectors highlights the need to strengthen local economies with new approaches, capable of creating qualified employment also thanks to emerging opportunities linked to sustainability, technological innovation and the valorisation of natural and cultural resources through unique and quality activities, products and services.
• It emphasises the need to identify specific strategies to diversify and strengthen the mountain socio-economic fabric, promoting territorial networks, investing in human capital through new training and capacity-building paths that are consistent with the specificities and uniqueness of the territory, such as to foster new forms of entrepreneurship and employment, as well as development and governance models that make the mountains a true laboratory for ecological and social transition.

JEL Classification: O13, O18, O20.
Keywords: territorial development, governance, mountain areas, White Paper.

• Mountain development today seems poised between the tendency of some centres towards hypertourism and the abandonment of many others to their fate as “internal areas”. However, neither of these perspectives can ensure lasting and sustainable prosperity for the mountains, a condition that can only be achieved by becoming a competitive territory, understood as a place capable of attracting and retaining strategic development resources and promoting long-term productivity growth. The article proposes an interpretation of mountain development from the perspective of the knowledge economy, considering the tendencies towards urban concentration, but also exploring the possibilities that peripheral areas can seize by leveraging the value of the economic complexity generated by the interweaving of the mountain economy's supply chains, a policy for the selective attraction and anchoring of foreign investments, the new centrality of the higher education system, and local finance to support innovative enterprises.

JEL Classification: O15, O18, O33.
Keywords: mountain development, inland areas, knowledge economy, competitiveness.

• Climate change is already significantly affecting quality of life, the economy and human mobility, not only in countries of the global South but also in Europe.
• In Italy, after decades of depopulation, interesting flows of new inhabitants have been observed for some years now, who choose the mountains, especially the Alps, also as a possible “climatic refuge”.
• The MICLIMI research shows a growing awareness of the effects of climate change in the city and at the same time highlights a widespread interest in mountains as an alternative living space.
• Mountains thus seem to become potential laboratories for climate adaptation and resilient development, while remaining fragile and vulnerable ecosystems.
• Understanding and governing the current and future flows of vertical migration is then crucial in order to transform them into opportunities for territorial rebalancing and socio-environmental innovation, within the framework of a governance of a metromontane nature.

JEL Classification: Q54, Q57, R42.
Keywords: climate change, meta-mountain, migration, Alps, mobility.