At the close of 2013, Republicans in Congress blocked the renewal of Emergency Unemployment Insurance, a measure that has allowed long-term unemployed Americans to continue to receive unemployment insurance benefits beyond the maximum 26-week benefit period. The failure to renew this extension ended benefits for 1.3 million Americans. Unemployment insurance has long been at the center of fierce debates over the nature of the U.S. social safety net. Conservatives claim that such benefits create a disincentive for the unemployed to seek work, while progressives argue that they are a crucial source of income for those who have lost jobs, especially during periods during and after recessions, when the labor market is at its most competitive and jobs remain scarce.

A new volume from the Russell Sage Foundation assesses the effectiveness of unemployment insurance alongside other policy measures designed to aid workers. What Works for Workers?, edited by Stephanie Luce, Jennifer Luff, Joseph A. McCartin, and Ruth Milkman, provides a comprehensive analysis of policies focused on low-wage workers and the expanding income gap in the U.S. Featuring contributions from an eminent group of social scientists, What Works for Workers? evaluates the most high-profile strategies for poverty reduction, including innovative “living wage” ordinances, education programs for African American youth, and better regulation of labor laws pertaining to immigrants. The contributors delve into an extensive body of scholarship on low-wage work to reveal a number of surprising findings.