The Social Science of the Olympic Games

Just for social science researchers and students here are some free links on the social science and economics of the Olympic games.

A good starting point is this article Going for Gold the Economics of hosting

and this Council on Foreign Relations backgrounder which was prepared recently and sets it all in context.

 How much does it cost to host the Olympic Games?

The IOC has a page on candidature which sets out the requirements on infrastructure and finance.

In 2016 they required:
Accommodation.
The IOC requires Candidate Cities to guarantee: – 40,000 rooms in various categories;. – a USD 2016 room rate for IOC hotels (1,800 rooms);. – a maximum USD 2016 room rate (including the calculation method) for other accredited client groups.
Such high infrastructure costs can deter developing countries from taking part. This article discusses the impact and concludes '

Empirical research into the true economic impact of mega-events on host economies
tends to show that major sporting events bring high costs with low rewards. The potential risks,
but also possibly the potential rewards, from hosting mega-events may be even higher for
developing nations.
Under the new IOC agenda 2020 it is addressing
Reducing costs for bidding, by decreasing the number of presentations that are allowed and providing a significant financial contribution from the IOC.

Positive impacts on jobs and tourism for the host.

The IOC emphasizes the benefits for the host nation.
The economic legacy from Rio was praised. This was echoed in an official report
Likewise they also pointed to the Winter Olympics in Turin 2006 creating jobs 
and the UK government felt that in general the London 2012 olympics had a lasting legacy
Look at more official reports on the infrastructure and investment of individual games in the official reports of the Winter Games.

However critics have argued that the impacts on the labour market are limited short term.
an article in the Economist argued it was an inefficient method to build infrastructure and many people have pointed to abandoned venues.


For a good listing of articles discussing the economics of the Olympics try this bibliography which rounds up key research.

also search SSRN papers and REPEC