Gold, Silver, Bronze or Tin? The Short and Long Term Effects of Mega Sporting Events
29 Pages Posted: 13 Jul 2012
Date Written: July 1, 2012
Abstract
This paper examines the short and long term effects of the Summer Olympics, Winter Olympics, and the World Cup on the economy of the host country. We find that selection for hosting the Summer Olympics only produces a significant positive announcement period effect in the host country’s domestic equity market. This effect however resides solely in the construction and building materials industry. We further show that the Summer Olympic game hosting nations generate significant positive economic performance up to 3 years prior to hosting the event, while this positive economic performance disappears 1 year after hosting such an event. Our results suggest that contrary to the conventional claims by mega sports organizers, it appears that there are no significant long-run economic gains from hosting such mega sporting events.
Keywords: Olympics, World Cup, Announcement Effect, Economic Performance
JEL Classification: G10, R11
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation