Since the 1940s, public officials at the local, state and federal levels have used student loan forgiveness programs to attract individuals to critically needed occupations and underserved communities. In exchange for a work commitment, the loan program forgives (or repays) an amount of the employee's student loan. Traditionally, these programs…

As guidelines for residential financing, the authors compare different approaches to understanding and figuring the costs of home ownership: the relation of income to house price and housing costs, interest rate, and mortgage term. Instead of the traditional method, they recommend the time value of money approach. (MF)

Analysis of the income-contingent repayment mechanism of the federal direct lending program suggests that it will be considerably more expensive than other repayment options in total interest costs for many; lead to hefty tax liabilities for some; be administratively cumbersome, vulnerable to fraud and abuse, and costly to taxpayers; and invite…

A National Education Loan Bank (NELB) is proposed as an alternative to existing federal loan programs for education, such as the National Direct Student Loan program and the Guaranteed Student Loan program. The history and structures of these two programs are detailed: financing, costs, insurance arrangements, agencies, volume, and interest rates.…