Olympic Effect Essay

1205 Words5 Pages
Seventy-seven men waddled gracefully down the track, their hips gyrated to and fro; instantly I was hooked. Like most human beings, I have a dream. I dream of the Olympics, multicolored rings, aggressive flag bearing patriotism, and of course, the fabled medals. I dream of being an Olympic race walker. My fascination with the Olympics began two years ago, when Brazil lit the torch in her city of Rio de Janeiro. There, I saw my destiny, the men’s 20 kilometer race walk- I began dreaming of gold. Like Michael Phelps, I dived headfirst into the pools of the Olympics, researching their history from every last minute miracle, to every heart breaking blunder. But as I peeled away the layers of my Olympic fruit, I was shocked to find a rotten core.…show more content…
This justification isn’t wrong, as countries that actually host the Olympics have an average trade expansion of 20%. But that would only be a half truth- as cities that lose an olympic bid still gain the same benefit without actually having to host. In his essay, “The Olympic Effect”, economist Andrew K. Rose attests to these findings, detailing that merely signaling, “that the country is capable and willing to host the Olympics through a highly visible international bid seems to be associated with a sizeable trade‐expanding effect.” So the Olympics aren’t justifiable economically, what about socially? A social justification the Olympics carry, and one that so often increases its price tag, is the assumption that hosting the games can positively affect it’s esteem. Simple logic would follow that hosting such a glamorous party would reflect positively of your nation- but it isn’t entirely true. In fact, the public opinion of a given city can actually become negative based on association, think of the 1972 Munich games and their associated massacre. Because similar spectacles occur every other year, global opinion or country or city generally remains the same, if not more negative based on given circumstances. Overall, when examining the Olympics on a scale of cost-benefit analysis, it’s the clear that the costs outweigh any potential
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