Olympic Medals, Economy, Geography and Politics from Sydney to Rio

T he paper uses Heckman model to examine the statistical importance of over ۱۴۰ independent variables on the Olympic performance of all countries participating in the Summer Olympic Games from Sydney ۲۰۰۰ to Rio ۲۰۱۶. We find that countries which export more products have a higher likelihood of winning an Olympic medal than their counterparts exporting fewer products, and explain why this is the case. Statistical importance of gross domestic product per capita, labor force, average temperature and three host effects (previous host, current host, future host) is also confirmed while the role of political variables in Olympic success remains inconclusive.

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Keywords: Olympic Games , Medals , Heckman Correction , Economic Variables , Political Variables , Geography. JEL Classification: L۸۳