Persistent effects of mega-events on local economies: an application of administrative big data

Abstract

Do the effects of a mega-event on a local economy persist even after the event has ended? Using a novel administrative big data set of buildings in the host regions, we analyze the long-term effects of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. For data collection, we converted building-level GIS data into a township-level data set. We used the synthetic control method which enables causal analysis even with a small number of treated units. Our analysis reveals that, despite a short-term increase in the number of local buildings due to the Olympics, effects did not persist 1 year after the event.