College graduates and current students are swimming in a sea of debt. As of this writing, the total amount of outstanding student loan debt has been estimated at $960 billion. The Occupy Student Debt movement, inspired by Occupy Wall Street, has suggested that all student loan debt should be forgiven. As a starting point, members of the movement…

2008 has been a tumultuous year in the financial world, culminating in scandals and bailouts. In 2009, the author asserts, people can probably expect not only more financial upheaval, but also further attempts by state and local governments to stem the all-but-fated turmoil. But in all the talk of bailouts, of embattled homeowners, and the…

This article describes the operation of the student loan program in Nigeria, including its past problems and current attempts of the Nigerian Students Loans Board to improve efficiency of loan collection. It proposes the establishment of a new Education Bank to finance student loans and other forms of investment in higher education. (Author/DB)

The Ontario Student Loan Program has experienced problems with default on student loans, as have loan systems in other countries where governments rely mainly on banks and special departments of quasi-public institutions to monitor or police the borrowers. This report discusses the need for radical modifications of the student loan program to…

Arguing that the benefits from borrowing abroad exceed the costs recently imposed on countries through debt-servicing difficulties, this paper defines debt as an engine of growth, forcing the borrower to produce goods efficiently, export them, and function competitively in the international market. Debt-servicing difficulties of developing nations…

This report proposes reform recommendations in the Federal Student Loan Program that are intended to reduce government (and taxpayer) costs, allow for the incorporation of the National Service Initiative, and provide more flexible repayment terms for borrowers. The proposal provides for an evaluation period for direct government lending, the…

Three big-city school systems nearly went bankrupt in the 1970s. New York City, including its schools, ran out of money; Cleveland closed its schools for long periods to conserve funds; and Chicago's schools ran out of credit. This paper narrates these crises, examines the responses of state governments and teacher and custodian unions, and looks…