An Old Boys' Club No More: Pluralism in Participation and Performance at the Olympic Games

Abstract

This paper examines the growing diversity of participation and achievement in the Olympics. A wide set of socioeconomic variables is correlated with medaling, particularly with respect to the Summer Games and women's events. Host advantage is particularly acute in judged contests such as gymnastics. However, there is evidence that the influence of correlates such as country size, per capita income, and membership in the communist bloc is declining over time as competition becomes increasingly diverse. These effects are less evident in the Winter Games, events that require significant capital investments, and judged contests.

Keywords: women, globalization, sports, Olympics, doping

JEL Classification: J16, L83, F69, Z13