The Olympic games have recently been criticized as an economic burden instead
of a once heavily coveted international sporting event. While many have studied the
economic benefits of the Olympic games, the purpose of this thesis is to specifically
focus on particular economic indicators in years of hosting the largest sporting event of
the world. This thesis explores the history of eleven different games held in ten different
countries. It studies the respective Gross Domestic Product, National Net Income per
Capita, and Unemployment Rate of each country before and after hosting the games
while considering historical events. This thesis assesses changes in GDP per Capita
growth rates, Net National Income per Capita growth rates, and Unemployment rates for
host countries in the both the year of the games and the subsequent year. This study
compares the economic effects of hosting the Olympics in both small and large
economies. Finally, this thesis concludes that the economic effect of hosting the
Olympics cannot be evidenced on a national level through the selected indicators.
