Date of Award
5-2025
Document Type
Thesis open access
First Advisor
Dr. John Anders
Second Advisor
Dr. Ben Harrell
Abstract
Omaha, Nebraska, hosted the United States Olympic Swimming Trials for the first time in 2008. This paper investigates the impact of this local stimulus on educational quality, as measured by expenditures per student and the pupil-teacher ratio. A two way fixed effects estimator, an event study regression, and a synthetic control estimator are used to demonstrate that hosting the Olympic Trials reduced educational quality in Omaha. Potential mechanisms and alternative explanations for this educational impact are discussed. This paper proves that a local economic stimulus, particularly a large-scale sporting event, does not enhance educational quality. More broadly, these results illuminate the potential unintended consequences of policy.
Recommended Citation
Wasserburger, Wes, "Do Sports Events Affect Public Education? Evidence from Omaha, Nebraska" (2025). Economics Honors Theses. 4.
https://digitalcommons.trinity.edu/econ_honors/4
