CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2017
| Author | Skripkina, Anastasiia |
|---|---|
| Title | Economic Voting in Russian Regions: Regional Legislative Elections 2003-2015 |
| Summary | Does state of the economy in Russian regions matter for voters on legislative election day? This thesis provides a positive answer to the question and contributes to our knowledge about economic voting in Russian regions over 2003-2015 period. To be more specific, the reward-punishment hypothesis stating that voters reward incumbents for good economic performance and punish them for economic decline is of main interest of this study. Drawing from theories on economic voting and after controlling for political and populational factors, this study argues that voters in Russian regions follow the logic of sociotropic voting. Using data on economic, political and socio-demographic indicators from the Russian Federal State Statistical Service for 60 regions, OLS regression analysis demonstrated that unemployment rate, average monthly income, and income change from the year before election, are statistically significant determinants of United Russia vote share in regional legislative election, while GRP growth does not have any significant impact on electoral outcomes. The findings of the study are consistent with the results obtained for 2011 Russian federal legislative elections. Although economic indicators appear to be less powerful predictors of UR vote share than political ones, it is still an important finding. These results indicate that there is electoral accountability in regions where authoritarian practices are not widely spread. |
| Supervisor | Toka, Gabor |
| Department | Political Science MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2017/skripkina_anastasiia.pdf |
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