Olympic Benefits

Considerable publicity has been given to the anticipated benefits of the 2010 Olympics to the provincial economy. The commonly quoted figures atomic number 18 that BC stands to gain as legion(predicate) as 228,000 new jobs and as much as $10 gazillion in additional economic activity. This has lead many state to conclude that the Games maturate out non only pay their consume way but provide an economic windfall for the res publica (1). Whether one is a supporter of the 2010 Olympics or not, there are a number of issues on the economic front that as planners we should be thinking about.

To begin with, the figure of 228,000 new jobs that is tossed rough by politicians and many in the media is not correct. The provincial governments receive economic impact study estimated that the 2010 Olympics might generate that many person-years of piece of work over 30 years under a best case scenario (2). There is a big deflection between jobs and person-years of employment, with 228,000 person-years of employment over 30 years translating into 7,600 regular equivalent continuing jobs over the period. The Olympics will therefore not deal the type of long-term cause on the provinces employment picture that some would like to believe or have others believe.

More significantly, there has been no weighing of the public cost of the Games against the anticipated benefits.



The question of whether or not the Olympics are a good use of public funds, especially compared to alternative uses, has not been examined by senior governments, as Schaeffer et al elaborate upon in their paper on a cost-benefit approach to evaluating the Games (3).

Beyond the appointment of the numbers, there are a number of areas where the economic effects of the Olympics need in-depth investigation. For example:

* Many hundreds of millions of dollars of public funds will be spent to host the Olympics, including infrastructure upgrades (notably the Sea-to-Sky Highway). How will this mend other areas of provincial and federal government funding...If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: Orderessay



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