Title: Assessing the impact of the 2012 European Football Championships on the Polish economy

Authors: Jakub Borowski; Jakub Boratyński; Adam Czerniak; Paweł Dykas; Mariusz Plich; Ryszard Rapacki; Tomasz Tokarski

Addresses: Department of Economics II, Warsaw School of Economics, Al. Niepodległości 162, 02-554 Warsaw, Poland ' Institute of Econometrics, University of Lodz, Rewolucji 1905r. 41, 91-214 Lodz, Poland ' Department of Economics II, Warsaw School of Economics, Al. Niepodległości 162, 02-554 Warsaw, Poland ' Faculty of Economics and Management, Jagiellonian University, Gołębia 24, 31-007 Cracow, Poland ' Institute of Econometrics, University of Lodz, Rewolucji 1905r. 41, 91-214 Lodz, Poland ' Department of Economics II, Warsaw School of Economics, Al. Niepodległości 162, 02-554 Warsaw, Poland ' Faculty of Economics and Management, Jagiellonian University, Gołębia 24, 31-007 Cracow, Poland

Abstract: In this paper, we examine the impact of the UEFA EURO 2012™ on the Polish economy. The simulations are based on a dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model and cover the years 2008-2020. We find that the main source of economic benefits is the acceleration of investments in transport infrastructure, which fosters growth of total factor productivity and the inflow of foreign direct investment. This contrasts with the results for more developed countries hosting major sporting events, where infrastructure effects are reported to be of less importance. Overall cumulative real GDP gains amount to 2.1% of the 2009 GDP level under the basic scenario.

Keywords: major sporting events; impact studies; 2012 European Football Championship; UEFA EURO 2012; Barcelona effect; infrastructure investment; computable general equilibrium model; CGE modelling; Poland; Polish economy; economic benefits; transport infrastructure; foreign direct investment; FDI.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSMM.2013.055196

International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 2013 Vol.13 No.1/2, pp.74 - 103

Received: 07 Dec 2011
Accepted: 13 Nov 2012

Published online: 29 Apr 2014 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article