'Final Four's economic impact on Atlanta: $0 -- or $70 million' WXIA-TV Atlanta Read Time 1 Minute Issues and Ideas Although Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed was boasting about the economic boost from the NCAA Men"s Final Four weekend, Victor Matheson, associate professor of economics at the College of the Holy Cross, explained in WXIA-TV Atlanta story that host cities of major sporting events typically only break even at best. He said that the projections of a huge economic impact are consistently much higher than the actual outcomes, usually about 10 times higher."One handy rule of thumb that economists use is, take whatever the city or the promoters tell you, and just move the decimal place one point to the left," Matheson advised. Watch the story on WXIA-TV Atlanta. This "Holy Cross in the News" item is by Sara Bovat '14. More Stories Image Go to Story Ritual, Community and Shared Experience: Running the Boston Marathon Image Go to Story Faculty, Worcester Partnerships Solve Real-World Problems Image Go to Story Remembering the Truth-Telling Outsider View All Stories