Budapest has done the sensible thing and withdrawn from the competition to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. Finally a refutation of the standard point about economists – that the more united their view on a subject the less attention anyone else pays to them. For the truth about the Olympics is that they are a […]
The Olympic Games are an inefficient boondoggle for host countries. There are alternatives that would reduce the costs AND corruption.
At the risk of sound glib, I believe the quadrennial fervor over the Summer Olympics is at least partially a function of the seemingly timeless nature of the competition. Set against the backdrop of the financial crisis in Rio de Janeiro, however, the games have become far more interesting, albeit tragic. Sprinters this year will […]
Much could be and has been written about the problems facing the Summer Olympic Games in Rio thanks to polluted water venues, substandard housing for athletes, Zika, crime, transportation, and Brazil’s overall financial problems. Beyond and behind these headlines, though, lay fundamental (and interesting) issues of political economy. The Olympic Games are costly, with large […]
The opening ceremony for the 2016 Olympics, hosted in Rio de Janeiro will take place this Friday. The celebrations, however, are clouded by the problems that have pervaded Rio all summer, problems that have been highlighted by preparations for the Olympics. Several prominent athletes have declined to participate in the games over fears of the Zika […]