What are the benefits of hosting a Sporting Mega Event? Evidence from industrial firms in China

It is acknowledged that the economic benefits of hosting a sporting mega event (SME) are overestimated and/or short-lived. However, many studies neglect the impact of the industrial sector, preferring to focus on service sector activity. It is further claimed that hosting a SME funnels a nation’s resources into one specific region at the expense of others. Therefore, this paper empirically investigates whether industrial firms in Beijing disproportionately (a) increased their invested capital ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games, and (b) became more profitable after the Games, relative to similar firms from comparable Chinese non-host cities. Using a difference-in-difference estimation strategy, we find no disproportionate impact of the Olympic Games on Beijing firms’ invested capital or profitability.