Unsuccessful cities bidding to host the Olympic Games can benefit a powerful boost to their economies and increase exports, according to academic research.
According to UK newspaper the Guardian, a statistical model shows that the “30 per cent” uplift in exports enjoyed by successful bidders is also shared by countries that lose out.
The model was created by Andrew Rose of the Haas School of Business at the University of California and Mark Spiegel of the San Francisco Federal Reserve.
“Our model predicts that bidders for the Olympics regret actually hosting the games,” said Rose. “That's one implication that seems consistent with the British data so far.”
With organisers of the London 2012 Olympics struggling to finance for parts of the event, the authors say that the economic benefits of holding the games are much less clear and that the research sends a “costly policy signal” to governments worldwide.
