Quantifying the intangible impact of the Olympics using subjective well-being data

Dolan, Paul, Kavetsos, Georgios, Krekel, Christian, Mavridis, Dimitris, Metcalfe, Robert, Senik, Claudia, Szymanski, Stefan and Ziebarth, Nicolas R. (2019) Quantifying the intangible impact of the Olympics using subjective well-being data. Journal of Public Economics, 177. ISSN 0047-2727

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Abstract

Hosting the Olympic Games costs billions of taxpayer dollars. Following a quasi-experimental setting, this paper assesses the intangible impact of the London 2012 Olympics, using a novel panel of 26,000 residents in London, Paris, and Berlin during the summers of 2011, 2012, and 2013. We show that hosting the Olympics increases subjective well-being of the host city's residents during the event, particularly around the times of the opening and closing ceremonies. However, we do not find much evidence for legacy effects. Estimating residents' implicit willingness-to-pay for the event, we do not find that it was worth it for London alone, but a modest well-being impact on the rest of the country would make hosting worth the costs.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© 2019 Elsevier B.V.
Divisions:	Psychological and Behavioural Science Social Policy Centre for Economic Performance
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HJ Public Finance H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions
JEL classification:	I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I3 - Welfare and Poverty > I30 - General I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I3 - Welfare and Poverty > I31 - General Welfare; Basic Needs; Living Standards; Quality of Life; Happiness I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I3 - Welfare and Poverty > I38 - Government Policy; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs L - Industrial Organization > L8 - Industry Studies: Services > L83 - Sports; Gambling; Recreation; Tourism
Date Deposited:	19 Aug 2019 12:51
Last Modified:	04 Oct 2024 04:45
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/101387

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