Student Loans and the Dynamics of Debt by Brad HershbeinISBN: 9780880994842
Publication Date: 2015-01-01
The burgeoning volume of debt and repayment difficulties that many people now experience have created a vigorous debate on whether public policy should further intervene in student loan transactions. In economic terms, do the benefits exceed the costs? Close examination of the data on cumulative debt, number and characteristics of borrowers, types of institutions, and repayment dynamics raises almost as many questions as it answers. In alignment with its mission of investigating the underlying dynamics of the labor market, a component of which is the educational preparation of the workforce, the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research organized a conference on student loans to catalyze careful and informed analysis of this understudied, but increasingly important, public policy. This volume includes the papers that were presented at the conference, held in Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan in October 2013. The Spencer Foundation and the Education Policy Initiative at the University of Michigan Ford School of Public Policy cosponsored the event.