WORLD CUP 2010: SOUTH AFRICAN ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVES AND POLICY CHALLENGES INFORMED BY THE EXPERIENCE OF GERMANY 2006 |
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| Authors: | WOLFGANG MAENNIG STAN du PLESSIS |
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| Institution: | Maennig:;Professor, Department of Business and Economics, Hamburg University, von Melle Park 5, D-20146 Hamburg, Germany. Phone +49 40 42838 4622, Fax +49 40 42838 6251, E-mail du Plessis:;Professor, Department of Economics, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Matieland, 7602, South Africa. Phone +27 21 808 2481, Fax +27 21 808 4637, Email |
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| Abstract: | The paper provides an ex post analysis of the financial burden and economic benefits of the World Cup (WC) in Germany 2006. Based on the usual cost-benefit measures, the experience of WC 2006 appears to be in line with existing empirical research on large sporting events and sports stadiums, which have rarely identified significant net economic benefits. The lessons from Germany 2006 provide a context for analyzing the potential risks and benefits for South Africa (SA), the WC hosts in 2010. For SA, a careful analysis might be even more urgent to assure the sustainability of investment in stadiums. The paper also argues that the "feel-good" and public image effects of sports events should no longer be neglected in cost-benefit studies of large sporting events, even though these effects have the character of experience goods, and their value are thus likely to be underestimated ex ante. ( JEL L83, R53, R58) |
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