Research examining students' socioeconomic outcomes after attaining a bachelor's degree tends to use single measures such as income or occupation (Thomas & Zhang, 2005; Torche, 2015). Yet, socioeconomic status is more complex than single measures. To capture that complexity, this study draws data from the National Center for Education…

American students graduate from college with tens of thousands of dollars in debt, leading to substantial repayment burdens and potentially inefficient shifts in spending patterns and career choices. A political trend towards austerity coupled with the rising student debt make the effective allocation of federal higher education resources and…

In this paper, we consider lessons for other countries about the design of student loans with income-contingent repayments (i.e. repayments calculated as "x" per cent of each borrower's subsequent income). Using a dataset of 20,000 simulated lifetime graduate earnings paths, we estimate the cost and distributional effects of reforms in…

The introduction to the collection of papers produced for or generated by a 1988 symposium titled "Law Student Debt, the Salary 'Gap' and Their Impact on the Legal Profession" notes the response of New York University (which adopted a loan forgiveness program) to the dilemma posed by the symposium. (DB)

Three law students at New York University (NYU) detail components and implementation of NYU's loan assistance program for graduates with low earnings (usually employed by public interest firms, the government, or small firms). NYU's program is intended to preserve student body diversity and minimize debt concerns as a factor in career choice.…

The paper reviews and critiques the 13 existing (1987) law school assistance programs and proposes a national repayment-assistance debt-forgiveness program which would involve an income-contingent repayment "tax" coupled with an assurance to creditors of repayment by means of a "guarantee" or "insurance" fund. (DB)

The article presents an econometric analysis of the interrelationships between law school tuition levels, law school quality, law faculty salaries, and the starting salaries of graduates. It then analyzes recent data and concludes that, while tuition increases have outpaced starting salaries, law school attendance is still a good investment.…

The paper details likely incomes and living costs of law graduates as related to educational costs and debts. Concern is expressed about the deterrent effect of potential high debt on minorities and an approach to financial aid which would take minority status into account is urged. (Author/DB)

A study investigated (1) college students' perception of their knowledge and actual knowledge about their student loans (when first borrowed, interest rate, repayment terms) and (2) the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics (age, sex, marital status, ethnic background, residency, academic achievement, major, employment, loan…