Abstract
Dissatisfied public employees put at risk the quality of service delivery. Th is study investigates pay dissatisfaction among a sample (N=501) of municipal employees in Russia’s Stavropol region. We find that pay dissatisfaction results from negative perceptions of public employment compensation, low levels of risk aversion, unethical professional attitudes, and more than 4 years of working experience. Our findings suggest that municipal employees are sensitive to multiple wage gaps within the public sector, and that upward pay comparisons are a relevant predictor of dissatisfaction with pay. We conclude that widespread pay dissatisfaction poses a serious threat to the implementation of federal programs and sustainable rural development in Russia.