The bidding paradox: why rational politicians still want to bid for mega sports events

Michiel De Nooij and Marcel van den Berg

No 13-09, Working Papers from Utrecht School of Economics

Abstract: This paper discusses reasons why politicians still favor hosting mega events despite the discouraging evidence regarding their financial benefits: (1) early political enthusiasm, (2) tying side-projects to the bid to raise political support, (3) biased reading of history, (4) the winners curse, (5) redistribution and lobbying, (6) a media bias in favor of hosting and (7) boosting happiness and pride of residents. Bringing happiness to the people might be a valid reason for hosting a mega event, however, economists are yet insufficiently capable of capturing this effect. Moreover, alternative explanations for political support cannot be deemed invalid ex ante.

Keywords: Bidding; mega sport events; Olympic games; lobbying; happiness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ppm, nep-spo and nep-tur
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:use:tkiwps:1309

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