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Who are the champions? Inequality, economic freedom and the olympics

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  • Kufenko, Vadim
  • Geloso, Vincent

Abstract

Does a countrys level of inequality affect its ability to win Olympic medals? If it does, is it conditional on institutional factors? We argue that the ability of economically free societies to win medals will not be affected by inequality. In these societies, institutions generate incentives to invest in the talent pool of individuals at the bottom of the income distribution (people who are otherwise constrained in the ability to expend resources on athletic training). These effects cancel out those of inequality. In unfree societies, the incentives that promote investments in skills across the income distribution are weaker. Consequently, the effects of inequality on the ability to win are stronger. Using the Olympics of 2012 and 2016 in combination with the Economic Freedom of the World Index, we find that inequality only matters in determining medal numbers for unfree countries. We link these results to the debates on inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • Kufenko, Vadim & Geloso, Vincent, 2019. "Who are the champions? Inequality, economic freedom and the olympics," Hohenheim Discussion Papers in Business, Economics and Social Sciences 13-2019, University of Hohenheim, Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:hohdps:132019
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    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. What sport can tell us about inequality
      by Johan Fourie in Johan Fourie's Blog on 2020-11-23 06:00:49

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    Cited by:

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    2. David E. Bloom & Victoria Y. Fan & Vadim Kufenko & Osondu Ogbuoji & Klaus Prettner & Gavin Yamey, 2021. "Going beyond GDP with a parsimonious indicator: inequality-adjusted healthy lifetime income," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 19(1), pages 127-140.
    3. Anna Bykova & Dennis Coates, 2022. "Professional team sporting success: do economic and personal freedom provide competitive advantages?," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 323-358, December.
    4. Franklin G. Mixon Jr. & Richard J. Cebula, 2022. "Property Rights Freedom and Innovation: Eponymous Skills in Women's Gymnastics," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 23(4), pages 407-430, May.
    5. Justin T. Callais & Vincent Geloso, 2023. "Intergenerational income mobility and economic freedom," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 89(3), pages 732-753, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Olympics; Inequality; Economic Freedom; Institutions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • E02 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General - - - Institutions and the Macroeconomy
    • O43 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Institutions and Growth

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