The Curious Capitalist: Olympics edition

I couldn't help but notice over the weekend that there are some people in China playing some games. But what, I found myself asking, will it all mean for GDP?

Brad Humphreys, a professor of economics at the University of Alberta, who co-authors a blog about the economics of sports, sheds some light on that topic and others in the current issue of Foreign Policy. Check out his nifty graphics:

And, yes, you can take the fact that I get my news about the Olympics from Foreign Policy as an indication of my general interest level in sportball and other athletics.

UPDATE: The Korea Times wrote about how China is expected to fare post-Olympics just today. I found this part particularly interesting:

"A key factor in post-Olympic economic performance is the size of the country and the share of the economic pie held by the host city," said Morgan Stanley in a report. Seoul, Barcelona and Sydney are bigger in proportion to their national economy, which is why the setback was bigger, it said.

Global pundits who discount the hangover theory say the Chinese capital accounts for just four percent of GDP ― much less than 25 percent for Seoul ― which could be easily offset by growth in the rest of the country.

Barbara!