Olympic medals as an indicator of social welfare (original) (raw)

Economic Determinants of Success in Olympic Games

turkish journal of sport and exercise, 2021

Sport economics is defined as the application of economic theories for analyzing of sport activities in which Olympic Games are the most famous ones. Activities in such games are measured by the number of medals that a certain country obtains. One way to predict medals winning by countries is to consider economic strength of the country in addition to the abilities of athletics. In this study, the effect of the most important economic factors on medals winning, such as Population, GDP per capita, and also hosting and the experience from past times in Olympics as explanatory variables are considered, which have not been reflected so far in the related studies. These variables are appropriate for the assessment of the potential of countries' success in Olympics. The data which is used, is in form of discrete data. Accordingly, Poisson Regression model is suitable for the purpose of this study. The period of examination is from 1992-2016 for evaluating the availability of having more medals in Olympics. The results, indicate a positive and significant relationship between economic factors, hosting and experiences in Olympic progressing. Since, countries expect from Olympics Games to derive more medals after the use of their resources, which have been allocated for this purpose, the study suggests that success in the Olympic need to consider the importance of economic factors.

An analysis of country medal shares in individual sports at the Olympics

European Sport Management Quarterly, 2016

Research question: Several studies report modelling relating countries' medal shares at the Olympics to population and per capita income (host status and political system are typically included as controls). This paper uses a similar model but disaggregates to the level of the individual sport to ask questions such as whether some sports have a less steep relationship with income levels than others and whether hosting effects are more pronounced in some sports than others. Research methods: Employing a random effects tobit model, data on medal shares are modelled across fifteen sports at six editions of the Games (1992-2012). Marginal effects, calculated for the case of cycling, illustrate how far many poor countries are from reasonable expectation of achieving medals. Results and findings: Income is influential on outcomes in all sports, its effects most pronounced in sports with substantial requirements for specific capital equipment; the distribution of medals is less unequal in sports practised in multi-sports venues. Gains from hosting vary in magnitude, performance tending to be elevated most in sports with outcomes strongly influenced by judges. Implications: For poorer countries, the paper identifies a small group of sports on which it would be most realistic to focus resources. For Games organisers, who must decide which sports to include, it provides information relevant to the goal of spreading success more evenly across countries. For example, proposals to exclude wrestling are shown to have been potentially harmful to medal prospects of poorer countries.

The Welfare Optimal Distribution of Olympic Success Considered as a Public Good

2007

Abstract: This study considers the performance of countries at the Olympic Games as a public good and investigates different welfare optimal distributions of Olympic success. Firstly, it is argued that, at the national level, Olympic success (measured as the number of gold medals won) meets the two key conditions of a public good; non-rivalry and non-excludability.

Who Wins The Olympic Games: Economic Development and Medal Totals

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

This paper examines determinants of Olympic success at the country level. Does the U.S. win its fair share of Olympic medals? Why does China win 6% of the medals even though it has 1/5 of the world's population? We consider the role of population and economic development in determining medal totals from 1960-1996. We also provide out of sample predictions for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. * 100 Tuck Hall, Hanover, NH 03755,

Who wins the Olympic Games: Economic resources and medal totals

Review of Economics and Statistics, 2004

This paper examines determinants of Olympic success at the country level. Does the U.S. win its fair share of Olympic medals? Why does China win 6% of the medals even though it has 1/5 of the world's population? We consider the role of population and economic resources in determining medal totals from 1960-1996. We also provide out of sample predictions for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. * 100 Tuck Hall, Hanover, NH 03755,

The Contest for Olympic Success as a Public Good

Journal of Economics and Econometrics, 2012

This article considers the performance of countries at the Olympic Games as a public good. Firstly, it is argued that, at the national level, Olympic success meets the two key conditions of a public good: nonrivalry and non-excludability. Secondly, it is demonstrated that standard income inequality measures, such as the Lorenz curve and the Gini index, can successfully be applied to the distribution of Olympic success. The actual distribution of Olympic success is compared with alternative hypothetical distributions, among which the noncooperating Nash-Cournot distribution, the distribution according to population shares and the one favoured by a social planner. By way of conclusion, it is argued, based on the Olympic Charter, that instruments to make the distribution of Olympic success more equitable are warranted to realize the true Olympic spirit as symbolized by the Olympic rings and the Parade of athletes.

Olympic Participation and Performance since 1896

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2001

We analyze the decision to participate and Olympic performance at the country level. We use an unbalanced panel of 118 countries over 24 editions of the Olympic Summer Games. The main focus of the paper is on economic, geographic and demographic explanations of Olympic participation and success. We estimate the impact of income per capita, population size, home advantage, and institutional variables on participation and success rates. We present separate results for events before the Second World War and after. These results show that income is an important determinant of Olympic participation and success. Socialist countries send more athletes to the games and have more success in medal counts. The home advantage has become less prominent.

Economic evaluation of the Olympic Games

International Journal of Advance Research, Ideas and Innovations in Technology, 2019

The purpose of this paper and study i.e. to figure which key economic factors can help us explain country performance (medals) in the Olympics. The paper focuses on 3 key objectives, namely: To produce a list of possible key economic factors that can explain Olympic performance. To produce a simple Mathematical model based on these factors which could possibly predict the Olympic tally at a country level. To identify the degree to which these factors will influence Olympic performance the study has been carried out in a way to develop a conceptual model and to analyze the hypotheses. I have considered the Beijing Olympics 2008 Games, sampled with 83 countries and 946 medals for the study. Based on the findings of the study, a few recommendations have been made, which if implemented in developing countries like India, may contribute to improving the sport performance of these countries in the future.