The Olympics: Culture vs. Institutions READING ASSIGNMENT: Bernard, Andrew B. and Meghan R. Busse. 2004. Who Wins the Olympic Games: Economic Resources and Medal Totals. The Review of Economics and Statistics 86 (1):413-417.

Plan Institutions vs. culture: Make domestic institutions personal Make more explicit what has been implicit Make domestic institutions personal Who wins international competitions?

Culture vs Institutions

Culture My languages : Spanish, French, (Haitian Creole) Places I’ve gone for work: http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/jrv24/friends.html

Intercultural Center If you only have a hammer, everything looks like a nail We often rely on cultural lenses Attribute differences in levels of economic development, political regime, crime rates, gender inequality to… “culture” This class offers a non-cultural lens Explain differences across countries & regions with… individual incentives and constraints shaped by institutions (domestic & international)

Culturalist explanations? Does culture explain? “They are different because of culture” = “They are different because they are different” WHY ARE THEY DIFFERENT?

Cultural story: Institutional: They have different values Why is doing business in China is distinct? Why has China experienced high rates of economic growth? Cultural story: They have different values They value the future (investment, sacrifice for children) Institutional: Government has a corporate structure incentivizing LOCAL political leaders to compete for investment Government officials seek to maximize survival in office

Why did the US give up the fixed exchange rate in 1971? Cultural: Peace and love movement of the 1960s led to cultural valuing of flexibility and freedom… …man Institutional: Nixon didn’t want to raise interest rates before an election Government officials seek to maximize survival in office

Figure out what people want to maximize Then figure out what the constraints and opportunities are (shaped by institutions)

Making it personal

Why did this Teamster switch from all- American baseball, basketball, and football to bowling? Why did he end up coaching a high school bowling team?

CHAPTER 1

Germany, the United States & bankruptcy Why is bankruptcy tolerated in the USA but not in Germany? Different cultures? What is the #1 reason for bankruptcy in the USA? MEDICAL BILLS Here the USA is failing to properly invest in the health of its population, and the price is great uncertainty in credit markets!

CHAPTER 2

Prof. Cha (SFS) Beyond the Final Score: The Politics of Sport in Asia (2008) Sport is a prism through which countries project their image to the world & to their own people Sport can facilitate domestic change (e.g., building up Beijing 2008)

Do some Olympic games privilege certain countries because of a cultural preference for different sports? The Olympic Games: 33 sports 52 disciplines nearly 400 events Does culture determine who wins which games? Does culture determine who wins the most gold medals?

What predicts Olympic medal count? population income Communist dictatorship host country latitude http://www.theamericanmind.com/2008/07/02/economic-model-accurately-predicts- olympic-medal-count/ http://results.beijing2008.cn/WRM/ENG/INF/GL/95A/GL0000000.shtml

But specific sports? United States, China and Gold Medals in soccer??? Not part of our cultures so we’re not good at it?

ACCORDING TO OLYMPICS PERFORMANCE: USA has, arguably, the most successful soccer program in the world 1996: gold 2000: silver 2004: gold 2008: gold 2012: gold World Cup: 3 times! Really???... WOMEN’S SOCCER! Why? Culture?… or Title IX? 1972: A federal law granting girls and women in high schools and colleges the right to equal opportunity in sports

The USA does not value soccer The USA does value women’s/girl’s athletics Institutional explanation for American dominance of women’s soccer Title IX  Scholarships***

CHAPTER 3

Title IX in action!

(health, self-esteem) Presumably, using public funds to promote sports is intended to produce a healthier, happier, and more psychologically balanced population How can you achieve these goals if you only invest in the athletics of half of your population? (you can’t) The USA has an institutional solution (Title IX) which is upheld by other institutions (independent judiciary) (health, self-esteem)

Research project What predicts WOMEN’s Olympic medal count?...

Stop answering these questions with “culture” Puzzles Which countries do the best in athletics? Which countries do the best in women’s athletics? Which countries have the best health care? Stop answering these questions with “culture”

The approach of this course: Understand the world through Interests & Incentives Shaped by political institutions International IMF World Bank United Nations Regional organizations Domestic Democracy Dictatorship Veto players How do government officials maximize tenure and promotion?

Study incentives and constraints Culture is malleable Study incentives and constraints

Thank you WE ARE GLOBAL GEORGETOWN!

EXAMPLES OF THESE KINDS OF STATEMENTS:

Law-like statements: A particle to which no force is applied will move with constant velocity in a straight line. Every particle of matter in the universe attracts every other particle with a force that is directly proportional to the product of the masses of the particles and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. E=mc2

Descriptive statements: Guatemala, 1993: The OAS restored democracy after President Serrano staged a self-coup. After WWII, the new French government supported a strong enforcement mechanism for the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR). In the late 1990s, tariffs in Argentina fell for trading partners both inside of Mercosur and outside as well.

We can easily apply law-like statements to particular cases… A particle to which no force was applied in Guatemala during 1993 moved in a straight line with constant velocity. Particles of matter in Argentina during the 1990s attracted other particles in Mercosur and the rest of the world with forces directly proportional to the product of the masses of the particles and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. In France, E equaled mc2 after WWII. True - but redundant - statements.

But some would judge the following “improper” because people don’t behave in a universal fashion the way “particles” do. Membership in democratic regional organizations preserves democracy. Insecure democracies seek to “lock-in” human rights using international organizations. The “trade diversion” associated with regional trade agreements can cause overall tariffs to decline by weakening the political strength of the “losers” from free trade.

We have taken a law-like approach to what international institutions do: Cooperation Commitment Laundering / Dirty work

Alternative (also valuable) approach: History of international organizations Descriptive Less risky Can lead to the view that every outcome is UNIQUE

Culture My languages : Spanish, French, (Haitian Creole) Teaching: Research position: Presentations of research: http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/jrv24/friends.html