Bargaining power of smaller states in Germany's Landerfinanzausgleich 1979-90

In this paper we explore the impact of political factors on redistribution across the states in the German Landerfinanzausgleich. From a public choice perspective the smaller states are supposed to have a higher influence on decisions in the second legislative chamber due to a lower shadow price of their votes, which implies a higher bargaining power. As the federal govern ment's policy depends on a majority in the second chamber there is an incen tive to buy smaller states' votes. Controlling for GDP per capita, we find statistically significant support for our hypotheses.