publ-mit-podpubl-mit-podPfeifer, GregorWahl, FabianMarczak, Martyna2024-04-082024-04-082016-11-032016https://hohpublica.uni-hohenheim.de/handle/123456789/6086This paper evaluates the economic impact of the $14 billion preparatory investments for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. We use satellite data on night light luminosity at municipality and electoral district level as a proxy for economic development, applying synthetic control methods for estimation. For the average World Cup municipality, we find significantly positive, short-run effects before the tournament, corresponding to a reduction of unemployment by 1.3 percentage points. At the electoral district level, we reveal distinct effect heterogeneity, where especially investments in transport infrastructure are shown to have long-lasting, positive effects, particularly in more rural areas.engFootball World CupPublic infrastructureDevelopmentNight lights dataSynthetic control methodsMega sports eventSouth Africa330SüdafrikaWirtschaftsentwicklungFußballweltmeisterschaftWorkingPaper479321175urn:nbn:de:bsz:100-opus-12861