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INSIDE EDUCATION REPORTER
THE first shots of the IRB Rugby World Cup have been fired in France, titans have been sunk, changing rooms are rife with the walking wounded, and rugby fever is at the pitch.
But, the impact of the Rugby World Cup far exceeds entertaining crowds with breath-taking tries and eliciting jeers from aggrieved crowds for off-the-ball scuffles.
Numerous economic factors fluctuate with the fortunes of the respective teams.
“The economic aspects are, of course, diverse. It is a long tournament, and analysts have already warned that it can influence people’s productivity,” explains Prof Waldo Krugell, an economic expert at the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences of the North-West University (NWU).
“With South Africa’s matches being played on Sundays, a win or a loss can cause an absence from work on Monday. However, the beer industry is unsure if that will be the case. Consumers struggle financially, and load-shedding means taverns cannot always keep the beer cold. Where people are wary of crime, they may not leave the house to watch matches, dampening spending,” says Krugell.
“Internationally, much research has also been done on the influence of sports sentiment on the stock market. When a country’s team loses, investors are somewhat depressed, and the next day is often a bad one on the stock exchange. The research has found that this is true for the FIFA World Cup and international cricket and rugby matches.
“Other research, in turn, looked at what happens to the stock prices of the big sponsors. Regarding the PGA golf tour and American NASCAR Cup races, sponsors’ stocks do better for the duration of the competition,” Krugell explains.
INSIDE EDUCATION
