Skip to main content
Log in

The Olympic Games and the Improvement of Economic Well Being

  • Published:
Applied Research in Quality of Life Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper investigates whether hosting the Olympic Games will improve economic well being of host countries. It is shown that the economic benefits of hosting the Games can last for up to 16 years. The economy of the host country improves after announcement of successful bid. The improvement peaks in the year of the Games and remains significant for 8 years after the Games.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Some host countries allow a full set of Olympic dummies, from 7 years before the host years to 9 years after the Games, to be equal to one in the respective years, whereas the Olympic hosts near the end of the sample timeframe only permit a segment of Olympic dummies to be equal to one. Taking 2012 Olympics as an example of segmented dummies, it allows pre-Olympic dummies from 2005 onwards to be equal to one, zero otherwise.

References

  • Adranovich, G., Burbank, M. J., & Heying, C. H. (2001). Olympic cities: lessons learned from mega-event politics. Journal of Urban Affairs, 23(2), 113–131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arellano, M., & Bond, S. (1991). Some tests of specification for panel data: Monte Carlo evidence and an application to employment equations. Review of Economic Studies, 58, 277–297.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baum, F. C. (2006). An introduction to modern econometrics using stata. Stata Press.

  • Bernard, A. F., & Busse, M. R. (2004). Who wins the Olympic Games: economic resources and medal totals. Review of Economics and Statistics, 86, 413–417.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, A. (1981). The sense of well-being in America. New York: McGraw Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crafts, N. F. R. (1997). Some dimensions of the “quality of life” during the British industrial revolution. The Economic History Review, 50(4), 617–639.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Easterlin, R. (1974). Does economic growth improve the human lot? Some empirical evidence. In P. A. David & M. W. Reder (Eds.), Nations and households in economic growth: Essays in honour of Moses Abramowitz. New York: Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Easterlin, R. (1995). Will raising the incomes of all increase the happiness of all? Journal of Economic Behaviour and Organization, 27, 35–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hashmi, S. M., Fida, B. A., & Alhayky, A. (2008). Economic impact studies of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. China-USA Business Review, 7(5), Serial No. 59.

  • Hirsch, F. (1976). The social limits of growth. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hotchkiss, J. L., Moore, R. E., & Zobay, S. (2003). The impact of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games on employment and wages in Georgia. Southern Economic Journal, 69(3), 691–704.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, D. K. N., & Ali, A. (2004). A tale of two seasons: participation and medal counts at the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. Social Science Quarterly, 85, 974–993.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahneman, D., & Deaton, A. (2010). High income improves evaluation of life but not emotional well-being. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(38), 16489–16493.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larsen, R. J., Diener, E., & Emmons, R. A. (1984). An evaluation of subjective well-being measures. Social Indicators Research, 17, 1–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lui, H. K., & Suen, W. (2008). Men, money, and medals: an econometric analysis of the Olympic Games. Pacific Economic Review, 13, 1–16.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lybbert, T. J., & Thilmany, D. D. (2000). Migration effects of Olympic siting: a pooled time cross-sectional analysis of host regions. Annals of Regional Science, 34, 405–420.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Millet, L. (1995). The games of the city. In M. Moragas Spa, & M. Botella (Eds.), The key to success, Barcelona, pp. 188–202.

  • Ng, Y. K. (1996). Happiness surveys: some comparability issues and an exploratory survey based on just perceivable increments. Social Indicators Research, 38, 1–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nussbaum, M. C., & Sen, A. (1993). The quality of life. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Preuss, H. (2004). The economics of staging the Olympics: A comparison of the games 1972–2008. Edward Elgar.

  • Scitovsky, T. (1976). The joyless economy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yao, S. (2006). On economic growth, FDI and exports in China. Applied Economics, 38, 339–351.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the editor, an anonymous referee, and Wing Suen for helpful comments, and Mansfield Wong, April Shing, Derek Wang, Joyce Liu, Audrey Wang and Tin Yan Ho for able research assistance. Any remaining errors are ours.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Terence T. L. Chong.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Chong, T.T.L., Hui, P.H. The Olympic Games and the Improvement of Economic Well Being. Applied Research Quality Life 8, 1–14 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-012-9176-8

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-012-9176-8

Keywords

Navigation