The Long‐Term Impacts of the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympic Games on Economic and Labor Market Outcomes

This paper aims to assess the long‐term effects of the 1998 N agano W inter O lympic G ames on various economic and labor market outcomes in N agano P refecture. One‐shot and large‐size events, such as the O lympic G ames, are expected to boost the local economy and create jobs, thus leading to lower unemployment. In addition, the tightening of the local labor market eventually raises wages. Using the synthetic control methodology, we build counterfactual dynamics of various economic and labor market outcomes for N agano P refecture, and then compare these outcomes with the actual data for these variables. This allows us to determine how the local economic and labor market outcomes in N agano P refecture would have been different had the 1998 Olympic Games not been held there.