The Economic Impact of St. Patrick’s Day

The Economic Impact of St. Patrick’s Day

Written by: Alex Goodyear

Saint Patrick’s day is a widely celebrated holiday that more than half of all American celebrate. Being both a religious and cultural day, this event is amount the Irish and the Catholics. With this holiday right around the corner had me wonder about the economic impact this day might bring.When thinking of St. Patrick’s day some things that might come to mind is irish food and the color green. This can be seen with the dying of the Chicago river as well as a huge parade held there every year. These parades held this weekend, March 11, and will have a massive impact on the economy.

For the last 62 year, Chicago has been holding this event and every year seems to get bigger and better, which comes at a cost. This means bigger parades, more advertising, and more green dye. In order to dye the chicago river green, more than forty pounds of dye is used which costs a little more than $2000 dollars. On top of this cost, many Chicago business are required to close their business for the day, making them forfeit their opportunity cost of that day’s work. On top of this all, between all the loud noises and shut down streets, this holiday can cause negative externalities for those who are indifferent about the holiday.

Despite all the cost this celebration might bring, it yields alot of potential to produce revenue. As this is one of the largest St. Patrick celebration, many travel from all over the country for the weekend. With this, hotel's raise prices which might force the government to implement a price ceiling. The increase of people in Chicago will also bring more popularity to its restaurants and attractions such as the different museums.

All in all, St. Patrick’s day is celebrated across the world and has plenty of economic impact including the additional consumer spendings or the revenue brought into Chicago for their big parade.

Works Cited

"St. Patrick’s Day 2016 By The Numbers." WalletHub. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2017. https://wallethub.com/blog/st-patricks-day-facts/10960/.

"St. Patrick's Day Chicago 2017." St. Patrick's Day Chicago | Choose Chicago. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.http://www.choosechicago.com/st-patricks-day/.

"The 2017 Chicago St. Patrick's day parade." Chicago St. Patrick's Day Parade 2017. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.http://www.chicagostpatricksdayparade.org/.

Share this post