Economic Dimensions of the Olympic Games in Beijing: Who Will be the Winners?

In preparation for the Olympic Games, China has invested heavily in the construction of sports venues and other infrastructure facilities, including environmental protection measures. While on the one hand a positive impact from these investments on the economic growth of Beijing can be expected, the concentration of financial resources in the country’s capital might, on the other hand, further increase regional disparities. When looking at the drivers of regional disparities, especially the discrimination against the rural population in terms of access to education and health, the value of the financial expenditures made for the Olympic Games shrinks drastically. If the Chinese government wants to halt the widening of regional disparities, it has to redirect its policy towards a more domestic market-driven growth, based to a much higher degree on the private demand of the rural population.