Raising the Floor

Name: Raising the Floor
Price: 190.95 AUD
Availability: OutOfStock
ISBN: 9780226846569

Federalism and the Politics of US Minimum Wage Policy

Shanna Rose

$190.95

Hardback

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English

University of Chicago Press
01 May 2026

Labour economics

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 how interest groups have navigated the highly decentralized American political system to shape the development of federal, state, and local minimum wage laws.

In her analysis, Shanna Rose highlights the importance of American federalism. She argues that because federalism creates multiple arenas for policy change, interest groups have sought out the sites most conducive to their goals, shifting their lobbying efforts as new obstacles and opportunities emerge. Federalism has facilitated minimum wage policymaking by fostering policy experimentation, learning, and diffusion across states and by allowing state and local governments to overcome gridlock and status-quo biases at the national level. Yet, federalism has also been an instrument for containment, enabling those opposed to minimum wage increases to litigate and preempt local-level laws.

With rich historical chapters that illuminate different phases in the development of today's patchwork of wage standards, Raising the Floor is a deep examination of the past, present, and future of American minimum wage law.

By: Shanna Rose
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9780226846569
ISBN 10: 0226846563
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 01 May 2026
Audience: Professional and scholarly , College/higher education , Undergraduate , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

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

Reviews for Raising the Floor: Federalism and the Politics of US Minimum Wage Policy

“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""