Taking It to the Limit: Effects of Increased Student Loan Availability on Attainment, Earnings, and Financial Well-Being

Sandra E. Black, Jeffrey Denning, Lisa J. Dettling, Sarena Goodman and Lesley Turner

American Economic Review, 2023, vol. 113, issue 12, 3357-3400

Abstract: Growing reliance on student loans and repayment difficulties have raised concerns of a student debt crisis in the United States, but little is known about the effects of student borrowing on human capital and long-run financial well-being. We use variation induced by recent expansions in federal loan limits combined with administrative datasets to identify the effects of increased access to student loans on credit-constrained students' educational attainment, earnings, debt, and loan repayment. Increased student loan availability raises student debt and improves degree completion, later-life earnings, and student loan repayment, while having no effect on homeownership or other types of debt.

JEL-codes: G51 I22 I23 I26 J24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Related works:
Working Paper: Taking It to the Limit: Effects of Increased Student Loan Availability on Attainment, Earnings, and Financial Well-Being (2023)
Working Paper: Taking It to the Limit: Effects of Increased Student Loan Availability on Attainment, Earnings, and Financial Well-Being (2020)
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DOI: 10.1257/aer.20210926

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