The Business of Stealing Futures: Race, Gender, and the Student Debt Regime

Ali Mir () and Saadia Toor ()
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Ali Mir: William Paterson University
Saadia Toor: City University of New York

Journal of Business Ethics, 2024, vol. 193, issue 4, No 3, 765-784

Abstract: Abstract In this paper, we argue that the system of student debt functions as one of the most egregious and yet poorly understood mechanisms by which structural racism is reproduced in the U.S. today. We present evidence that student debt is unevenly distributed across race and gender, show that this pattern arises from policy choices made over time, and demonstrate that these disparities play a significant role in maintaining and exacerbating racial and gender wealth gaps. Our paper contends that the student debt crisis not only erodes the core principles of higher education but also perpetuates a cycle of racial and gender inequality and given the crucial role played by business corporations, urges scholars of business ethics to pay attention to this issue.

Keywords: Racial capitalism; Student debt; Black Lives Matter (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1007/s10551-024-05724-w

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