Bangladesh has secured a place among the Super 10 teams at last to play in the final stage of T-20 Cricket World Cup 2014. Although the passage to the Super 10 initially appeared to be very smooth, it turned out to be a bumpy one for the local team. There were moments of excitement and confidence followed by frustration and disbelief. Bangladeshi people had to wait till the last minute to heave a sigh of relief.
Bangladesh is the lone host of the tournament. No doubt, the tournament would have partially lost its appeal to millions of citizens of the country had Hong Kong scored 109 runs in 13.1 overs in their match against Bangladesh. Luckily, that did not happen and enthusiasm of the local spectators about this tournament is still very much alive.
Even though Bangladesh has no economic objective in hosting this august event, there will surely be some economic effects as by-products. In 2012, the Lloyds banking group commissioned a study to assess the economic impact of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic events hosted by the UK. According to the estimates of Oxford Economics, an international consulting firm, the 2012 Games will support a £16.5 billion (2012 prices) contribution to the British GDP (gross domestic product) spread over 12 years. Of this, 82 per cent is expected to result from the pre-Games and legacy construction activity, 12 per cent from tourism and 6.0 per cent from the expenditure required to stage the Games (http://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/globalassets/documents/media/press-releases/lloyds-banking-group/2012/eco_impact _report.pdf).
However, according to a UK government report, the economy had seen a £9.9bn boost in trade and investment from hosting of the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games (http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-23370270). Although the estimates differ, in both the cases, the estimated economic impact is significant.
Bangladesh was a co-host of the World Cup Cricket 2011 along with India and Sri Lanka. Although no research has been conducted to assess the economic impact of that tournament, it would be logical to assume that Bangladesh as well as other host economies also received some boost from that event. The opening ceremony of the tournament was held on February 17, 2011 at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka, and the tournament was played between February 19 and April 02. Only a limited number of the total matches took place in Bangladesh. It would be relevant to mention that the Bangladesh economy accomplished the highest-ever growth of GDP in FY11 (July 2011 to June 2011). One can simply disregard the role played by the World Cup Cricket 2011 calling this accomplishment as a matter of coincidence. But the fact remains that such trivialisation will not be based on any research and therefore cannot be irrefutable by any means.
The successful completion of T-20 Cricket World Cup 2014 tournament can provide some level of economic stimuli both through direct and indirect channels:
Direct impacts: The direct economic impacts will include the expenses incurred to arrange the tournament. For example, this will include total expenses to build Sylhet stadium, renovate the other stadiums where the matches are taking place. Any spending directly related to the arrangement of this tournament will be considered as a direct economic boost.
Indirect impacts: The economic activities generated by the procurement of inputs of goods and services to build new infrastructures or to renovate the existing ones will be the part of indirect impacts. For example, in the case of the building new infrastructures like Sylhet Stadium, the construction industry's supply chain involving production of steel and cement will benefit. The tournament is also expected to bring a reasonable number of foreign officials and spectators. Their spending on food and accommodation, retail and leisure outlets will also provide boost to the economy.
Along with them, the local spectators will also spend on a number of related items both at and outside the stadiums. Similarly, the expenses incurred to repair and expand the roads in different parts of Dhaka, Chittagong, and Sylhet city corporations will also provide an indirect boost to the economy. So will do the expenses incurred on beautification of these cities.
It is not possible to guesstimate the overall economic boost that Bangladesh will get from the T-20 Cricket World Cup 2014. But in a year when a reasonable economic momentum has already been lost due to conflicting politics and vandalism, any economic stimuli, no matter how big or small they are, is very important. From that perspective, the timing of the T-20 Cricket World Cup 2014 cannot be any better for Bangladesh. Who knows, with the help of the economic boost provided by T20 Cricket World Cup tournament, the Bangladesh economy may even be able to avoid the much anticipated dip in its growth of GDP in the current fiscal year at the end. Only time will say whether it happens or not, but one cannot rule out this possibility as we are yet to undertake any research to unfold the strength of economic impact of similar big events in Bangladesh.
Dr. Abul Basher is Researcher at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), former economist, World Bank, and former faculty, Willamette University, USA. [email protected]
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