Can a Host Country Make Money on the Olympics or World Cup?

Brazil's fans react during a public viewing event at a street in Rio de Janeiro during the 2014 FIFA World Cup semifinal match

Andrew Zimbalist, an economics professor at Smith College and the author of Circus Maximus: The Economic Gamble Behind Hosting the Olympics and the World Cup (Brookings Institution Press, 2015), looks at the billions of dollars countries like China, Brazil and Qatar spend hosting world sports competitions and the rare examples where the benefits outpace the costs -- and who pays and profits.