The Oxford Olympics Study 2016: Cost and Cost Overrun at the Games

ArXiv ID: ssrn-2804554 “View on arXiv”

Authors: Unknown

Abstract

Given that Olympic Games held over the past decade each have cost USD 8.9 billion on average, the size and financial risks of the Games warrant study. The objec

Keywords: Major Event Financing, Cost-Benefit Analysis, Public Infrastructure, Revenue Bonds, Financial Risk Management, Public Finance/Infrastructure

Complexity vs Empirical Score

  • Math Complexity: 1.0/10
  • Empirical Rigor: 3.0/10
  • Quadrant: Philosophers
  • Why: The paper’s math is limited to descriptive statistics (averages, percentages) without advanced modeling. While it uses historical data, it lacks the implementation-heavy backtesting or detailed datasets typical of high-empirical-rigor finance research, focusing instead on broad phenomenological analysis.
  flowchart TD
    A["Research Goal<br>Quantify Olympic cost &amp; overrun"] --> B["Methodology<br>Retrospective cost analysis"]
    B --> C["Data Sources<br>Olympic Games budgets 1960-2016"]
    C --> D["Computation<br>Mean cost &amp; overrun calculations"]
    D --> E["Key Findings<br>Avg cost: USD 8.9B<br>Avg overrun: 156%"]