Paperback
Minimum wage history reveals how power shapes our paychecks today.

Raising the Floor

Federalism and the Politics of US Minimum Wage Policy

$69.06

  • Paperback

    256 pages

  • Release Date

    1 May 2026

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Summary

A rich history of the development of American minimum wage policy with lessons for today.

Despite broad popular support for robust minimum wage policy, the federal minimum wage is now worth less—in real, inflation-adjusted terms—than at any time since 1949. While some state and local governments have stepped in to fill this void, others have declined to set any minimum wage standard at all. Traversing more than 100 years of history, Raising the Floor examines…

Book Details

ISBN-13:9780226846576
ISBN-10:0226846571
Author:Shanna Rose
Publisher:The University of Chicago Press
Imprint:University of Chicago Press
Format:Paperback
Number of Pages:256
Release Date:1 May 2026
Weight:367g
Dimensions:18mm x 152mm x 229mm
A-Format
B-Format
Raising the Floor by Shanna Rose - ISBN: 9780226846576
152 × 229 mm
C-Format
A4
mm / in
What They're Saying

Critics Review

“Shanna Rose’s magisterial account shows how the development of the minimum wage reflects nearly every political struggle of the last 100 years: the central roles of race and gender; the growing toll of polarization on combating inequality; the increased importance of the states in the face of federal gridlock; but also states’ capacity limitations. This fascinating book illuminates central aspects of American policymaking, such as federalism, interest groups, policy sclerosis, and preemption. A signal achievement.” – Andrea Louise Campbell | author of “Taxation and Resentment: Race, Policy, and Class in American Tax Attitudes”
“This exhaustively researched book highlights the wide range of federal, state, and local venues in the U.S. federal system where groups and officials have shaped minimum-wage policy. Raising the Floor makes important contributions to our understanding of the consequences of federalism and also offers insights for scholars of American political development, American political economy, and social welfare policy.” – John Dinan | author of “State Constitutional Politics: Governing by Amendment in the American States”

About The Author

Shanna Rose

Shanna Rose is the Alice Tweed Tuohy Professor of Management and Government and founding director of Claremont McKenna College’s public policy major.

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