Intergovernmental grants in Russia

Two hypotheses about the determinants of Russian intergovernmental grants are tested. According to the first hypothesis, federal transfers to regions correlate with recent voting behaviour of regional electorates. The second hypothesis states that transfers are higher in regions with politically powerful governors. I find a strong confirmation for the first hypothesis and no evidence for the second hypothesis for the years 1995–99. This result is robust across specifications. However, in the years 2000–2004 electoral variables show no effect on transfers. The only significant political variable is Putin’s visits to regions.