People assume that hosting the Olympics is always good for a country. This article gives some reasons why the Olympics may have been both good and bad for the Chinese economy, which is supposed to one of the fastest growing in the world. We've been reading articles about pollution and the costs of the spectacular new facilities, but not about how China's show of resources and greatness might be adverse for their economic growth. some of the reasons analysts are worried about China are: They restricted multiple entry visas to the country so businessmen cant travel back and forth as easily, beijing has severe trafic restrictions in important sectors of the city for several months which means people can't access businesses as easily, the pollution ban is slowing manufacturing growth and upping prices (as companies try to comply with strict air quality conditions).
also, the olympics are a disaster as far as the famed chinese productivity is concerned; theres almost a 50% drop in chinese business during the games, mostly from workers taking time off to watch the events. this adds up to millions of dollars lost for the chinese economy.
It will take time to see if Olympics tourism and sponsorship offset these problems and the Games are ultimately beneficial to China.
6 comments:
You have a good perspective on the matter, however, i feel it is too soon to say if the decrease in manufacturing is a result of costs incurred during the olympics or rising production costs in general. Furthermore, it could also be due to the slowdown in the global economy.
in my opinion, most of the costs mentioned in your post would only have a short-run negative effect on the Chinese economy. other benefits brought about by the Olympics such as consumer confidence fueled by positive nationalistic sentiment, foreign investment are those that would last for a longer period of time and would certainly play a part in Chinese economic growth in the future.
I think the 2008 Olympics is definitely going to be a blessing for China's economy in a long run.
Mega international event such as Olympics brings developed infrastructure to a hosting country which is going to boost its economy. It also promotes a tourism industry and strengthens a country brand power.
Historically, hosting countries of the Olympics experienced a boost in employment and GDP.
i agree.. the olympics is definately going to help the economy around the beijing area.. think about barcelona as an example here.. they too spent considerably amount of money (given the size of spain) on redefining the city ands its architecture and its worked wonders.. barcelona is a consistently successful city, especially with a burgeoning tourism sector that keeps bringing in more revenue...
I think the 2008 Olympics is definitely going to be a blessing for China's economy in a long run.
Mega international event such as Olympics brings developed infrastructure to a hosting country which is going to boost its economy. It also promotes a tourism industry and strengthens a country brand power.
Historically, hosting countries of the Olympics experienced a boost in employment and GDP.
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