Trading Effects of the FIFA World Cup

Abstract

This study analyzes the trading effects of FIFA World Cup in two dimensions. First, we show that participating in the World Cup significantly increases exports from the participant countries to the host countries, relative to a control group of non‐participants. Second, we demonstrate that trade is reasonably higher for host‐participant pairs compared to other country pairs. We also provide dynamic estimates for both cases and offer plausible arguments and important channels for our findings.