Family benefits public spending: Centralization or decentralization?

In order to overcome negative demographic trends in the Russian Federation, measures to stimulate the birth rate have been developed and financed at the federal and sub-federal levels. At the moment, on the one hand, there is a tendency to centralize expenditures for these purposes at the federal level, on the other hand, the coverage of the subjects of the Russian Federation, which introduce sub-federal (subnational) maternity capital (SMC), is expanding. The study was recognized to answer the question: whether the widespread introduction of SMC is justified, whether the effect of its use depends on the level of subsidization of the region and the degree of decentralization of expenditures.