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Articles 1 - 17 of 17
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Is There An Economic Case For The Olympic Games?, Chris Dempsey, Victor Matheson
Is There An Economic Case For The Olympic Games?, Chris Dempsey, Victor Matheson
Economics Department Working Papers
The Olympic Games are a major undertaking that promise both large costs and potentially large benefits to host cities. This paper lays out the potential economic benefits of hosting the Olympics and details how, in the vast majority of cases, these gains are unlikely to cover the costs of hosting the event. The ideas are then applied to the experience of Boston in its ultimately unsuccessful bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
The Rise And Fall (And Rise And Fall) Of The Olympic Games As An Economic Driver, Victor Matheson
The Rise And Fall (And Rise And Fall) Of The Olympic Games As An Economic Driver, Victor Matheson
Economics Department Working Papers
This paper traces the economic history of major sporting events focusing on the Olympics. Historically, the Olympic Games as well as other major sporting events have been considered costly events that place a burden on host cities. Only in relatively recent years, coinciding with the massive increases in the cost of hosting these events, have event organizers begun to claim that these events bring with them large economic benefits.
Point/Counterpoint: Is There A Case For Subsidizing Sports Stadiums?, Victor Matheson
Point/Counterpoint: Is There A Case For Subsidizing Sports Stadiums?, Victor Matheson
Economics Department Working Papers
In recent decades, governments have committed enormous public resources to subsidize construction of new stadiums, and the dollar value of taxpayer contributions for these subsidies continues to climb. Spending of taxpayer dollars includes both direct subsidies from state and local governments, as well as indirect subsidies from the use of tax-exempt bonds to finance construction. In granting stadium subsidies, governments claim that the stadiums are a public good that attracts tourists and businesses, thereby generating increased spending and job creation—benefits that flow to the community rather than to team owners. But do such benefits exist, and are they large enough …
The Economics Of The World Cup, Victor Matheson
The Economics Of The World Cup, Victor Matheson
Economics Department Working Papers
The quadrennial World Cup is perhaps the world’s most popular sporting event with millions of live fans and a worldwide television audience in the billions. It is also one of the most costly events to host with recent hosts countries such as Brazil and Russia spending around $12 billion putting on the tournament. This paper examines the costs and the benefits of hosting the World Cup with a focus on historical data and past economic impact studies.
Mega-Events And Tourism: The Case Of Brazil, Robert Baumann, Victor Matheson
Mega-Events And Tourism: The Case Of Brazil, Robert Baumann, Victor Matheson
Economics Department Working Papers
Mega-sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup are expensive affairs. Host countries often justify the spending required to stage these events by predicting that mega-events will draw large numbers of tourists. This paper analyzes monthly foreign tourist arrivals into Brazil between 2003 and 2015 and finds that the 2014 FIFA World Cup increased foreign tourism by roughly one million visitors. This number far exceeded expectations, but we show that roughly a quarter of this increase in foreign tourism was caused by the fortuitous advancement of Argentina’s national team, and potential hosts should not count on the event to consistently …
Unconventional Wisdom: Estimating The Economic Impact Of The Democratic And Republican National Political Conventions, Victor Matheson, Lauren R. Heller, E. Frank Stephenson
Unconventional Wisdom: Estimating The Economic Impact Of The Democratic And Republican National Political Conventions, Victor Matheson, Lauren R. Heller, E. Frank Stephenson
Economics Department Working Papers
We use daily hotel occupancy, price, and revenue data to analyze the economic impact of the 2008 and 2012 Democratic and Republican National Conventions. We find that political conventions generate approximately 29,000 room nights of lodging, though this figure is offset by lower hotel occupancy during the week before and, to a lesser extent, after conventions. Conventions increase hotel revenue by approximately $20 million on average, a figure which suggests that host cities’ claims of economic impacts of $150 million or more may be implausible.
An Analysis Of Drivers Of Mega-Events In Emerging Economies, Robert Baade, Victor Matheson
An Analysis Of Drivers Of Mega-Events In Emerging Economies, Robert Baade, Victor Matheson
Economics Department Working Papers
Developing countries that host mega-events such as the Olympic Games and World Cup invest enormous sums in stadiums and collateral infrastructure projects. The paper examines the motivations of countries to host these events and the typical economic outcome for those host sites lucky(?) enough be awarded the games. For both efficiency and equity reasons, these events are risk propositions at best, and they generally represent an even worse investment for developing countries than for industrialized nations.
Many Happy Returns? The Pro-Bowl, Mega-Events, And Tourism In Hawaii, Robert Baumann, Victor Matheson
Many Happy Returns? The Pro-Bowl, Mega-Events, And Tourism In Hawaii, Robert Baumann, Victor Matheson
Economics Department Working Papers
We use daily airplane arrival data from 2004 to 2015 from Hawaii’s Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to determine the net change in arrivals around a variety of sporting events. We find only one event generates a positive and significant net impact on arrivals: the Honolulu Marathon, which generates roughly 3,900 additional arrivals. No other sporting events result in a measurable increase in tourist arrivals including, notably, the NFL’s Pro Bowl, which receives a large subsidy from the state’s tourism authority.
Infrastructure Investments And Mega-Sports Events: Comparing The Experience Of Developing And Industrialized Countries, Robert Baumann, Victor Matheson
Infrastructure Investments And Mega-Sports Events: Comparing The Experience Of Developing And Industrialized Countries, Robert Baumann, Victor Matheson
Economics Department Working Papers
Countries vigorously compete for sports mega-events in hopes of generating an economic impact during the event but also long-term growth induced by the hallmark event. It is well understood that the economic legacy depends on the infrastructure that not only facilitates the games but also has far broader implications for sustainable economic activity in the host city’s economy. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the extent to which developing and developed countries adopt different strategies as it related to the composition of infrastructure enhancements that have implications for the generation of an economy legacy from the mega-sports event.
Assessing The Infrastructure Impact Of Mega-Events In Emerging Economies, Victor Matheson
Assessing The Infrastructure Impact Of Mega-Events In Emerging Economies, Victor Matheson
Economics Department Working Papers
Developing countries that host mega-events such as the Olympic Games and World Cup invest enormous sums in stadiums and collateral infrastructure projects. The rapid investment in long-lasting physical stocks raises questions of equity and efficiency for national taxpayers and event attendees. This paper reviews several cases of historical and recent mega-events to assess the infrastructure costs, returns on infrastructure investments, and impacts of the events on urban development patterns. It will highlight cases where mega-event investments contributed to long-term economic growth.
Labor Market Effects Of The World Cup: A Sectoral Analysis, Robert Baumann, Bryan Engelhardt, Victor Matheson
Labor Market Effects Of The World Cup: A Sectoral Analysis, Robert Baumann, Bryan Engelhardt, Victor Matheson
Economics Department Working Papers
This paper provides an empirical examination of impact the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States on local employment. In contrast to ex ante economic impact reports that suggest large increases in employment due to the tournament, an ex post examination of employment in 9 host metropolitan areas finds no significant impact on employment from hosting World Cup games. Furthermore, an analysis of employment in specific sectors of the economy finds no impact from hosting games on employment in the leisure and hospitality and professional and business services sectors but a statistically significant negative impact on employment in the …
The Labor Market Effects Of The Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, Robert Baumann, Bryan Engelhardt, Victor Matheson
The Labor Market Effects Of The Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, Robert Baumann, Bryan Engelhardt, Victor Matheson
Economics Department Working Papers
The local, state, and federal governments, along with the Salt Lake City Organizing Committee, spent roughly $1.9 billion in direct costs related to planning and hosting the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. In this paper, we investigate whether these expenditures increased employment. At the state level, we find strong evidence it increased employment in leisure related industries in the short run and potentially in the long run. However, the results indicate it had no long term impact on employment in retail trade or in the overall economy.
The Effect Of Sports Franchises On Property Values: The Role Of Owners Versus Renters, Katherine A. Kiel, Victor Matheson, Christopher Sullivan
The Effect Of Sports Franchises On Property Values: The Role Of Owners Versus Renters, Katherine A. Kiel, Victor Matheson, Christopher Sullivan
Economics Department Working Papers
This paper estimates the public benefits to homeowners in cities with NFL franchises by examining housing prices rather than housing rents. In contrast to Carlino and Coulson (2004) we find that the presence of an NFL franchise has no effect on housing prices in a city. Furthermore, we also test whether the presence and size of the subsidy to the team affects values and find that higher subsidies for NFL stadium construction lead to lower house prices. This suggests that the benefits that homeowners receive from the presence of a team are negated by the increased tax burden due to …
Hail To The Chief: Assessing The Economic Impact Of Presidential Inaugurations On The Washington, D.C. Local Economy, Robert Baumann, Bryan Engelhardt, Victor Matheson
Hail To The Chief: Assessing The Economic Impact Of Presidential Inaugurations On The Washington, D.C. Local Economy, Robert Baumann, Bryan Engelhardt, Victor Matheson
Economics Department Working Papers
While presidential inaugurations routinely attract hundreds of thousands or more visitors to Washington, D.C. for the quadrennial celebration, our examination of employment from the Current Employment Statistics survey from 1939 to the present and both employment and unemployment from the Current Population Survey from 1977 to the present finds no noticeable effect on either variable from the event. The residents of D.C. should not expect the inauguration to make them any richer, and the city should not count on any economic benefits generated by the event to fully pay for the significant costs of hosting it.
Slippery Slope? Assessing The Economic Impact Of The 2002 Winter Olympic Games In Salt Lake City, Utah, Robert Baade, Robert Baumann, Victor Matheson
Slippery Slope? Assessing The Economic Impact Of The 2002 Winter Olympic Games In Salt Lake City, Utah, Robert Baade, Robert Baumann, Victor Matheson
Economics Department Working Papers
This paper provides an empirical examination of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. Our analysis of taxable sales in the counties in which Olympic events took place finds that some sectors such as hotels and restaurants prospered while other retailers such as general merchandisers and department stores suffered. Overall the gains in the hospitality industry are lower than the losses experienced by other sectors in the economy. Given the experience of Utah, potential Olympic hosts should exercise caution before proceeding down the slippery slope of bidding for this event.
Bowling In Hawaii: Examining The Effectiveness Of Sports-Based Tourism Strategies, Robert Baumann, Victor Matheson, Chihiro Muroi
Bowling In Hawaii: Examining The Effectiveness Of Sports-Based Tourism Strategies, Robert Baumann, Victor Matheson, Chihiro Muroi
Economics Department Working Papers
We use daily airplane arrival data from Hawaii’s Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism to determine the net change in tourism for a variety of sporting events. We find two events generate a positive and significant net impact on arrivals: Honolulu Marathon and Pro Bowl. We estimate that the Honolulu Marathon produces between 2,183 and 6,519 in net arrivals while the Pro Bowl attracts about 5,595 to 6,725 in net arrivals. At the upper end of our estimates, the Honolulu Marathon and the Pro Bowl attract a nearly identical number of visitors despite the fact that the HTA spends …
Conflicts In Development: Tourism And The Cattle Industry In Brazil, Nicholas Sanchez, John F. O'Connell
Conflicts In Development: Tourism And The Cattle Industry In Brazil, Nicholas Sanchez, John F. O'Connell
Economics Department Working Papers
This paper challenges the conventional view that where there is a political elite, economic development will proceed along lines that sacrifice future generations for the benefit of the current ruling class. We find that shortfalls in the balance of payments will cause those in authority to promote activities that encourage tourism as a solution to balance of payments deficit. The vehicle for generating tourism is the provision of public goods. More traditional paths toward development particularly cattle ranching are displaced by tourist attractions. While motivated by myopic self-interest, the pursuit of public goods reduces the amount of debt transferred to …