scholarly journals Student Loan Nudges: Experimental Evidence on Borrowing and Educational Attainment

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Marx ◽  
Lesley Turner
Keyword(s):  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
Student Loan

scholarly journals Student Loan Nudges: Experimental Evidence on Borrowing and Educational Attainment

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin M. Marx ◽  
Lesley J. Turner
Keyword(s):  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
Financial Aid ◽  
Student Loans ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Student Loan ◽  
Public Colleges ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
Choice Sets ◽  
Theoretical Analyses

We provide the first experimental evidence on the effect of student loans on educational attainment. Loan amounts listed in financial aid award letters (“offers”) do not alter students’ choice sets but significantly affect borrowing. Students randomly receiving a nonzero offer were 40 percent more likely to borrow than those who received a $0 offer. Per additional borrower, loans increased by $4,000, GPA and completed credits increased by 30 percent, and transfers to four-year public colleges increased by 11 percentage points. Cost-benefit and theoretical analyses suggest nonzero offers enhance welfare, yet over five million students are not currently offered loans. (JEL D14, D91, I22, I23)

scholarly journals Parents, Partners, Plans and Promises: The Relational Work of Student Loan Borrowing

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abby Stivers ◽  
Elizabeth Popp Berman
Keyword(s):  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Life Course ◽  
Student Loans ◽  
Quantitative Estimation ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Student Loan ◽  
Relational Work ◽  
Economic Well Being ◽  
Debt Levels

When does student loan borrowing prompt relational work between borrowers and their family members? Research on student loans has focused on quantitative estimation of the effects of borrowing on educational attainment, economic well-being, health, and life course milestones. Drawing on sixty interviews with respondents working as lawyers in the northeastern U.S., we argue that student loans also have underappreciated relational effects, even for relatively privileged borrowers. Relational work around student loans is particularly visible during three important moments: the decision to borrow, the decision to partner, and when planning children’s futures. While scholars have examined the effects of borrowing on marriage and childbearing decisions, they have implicitly assumed that it is difficulty repaying that causes such effects. Attention to relational work, however, shows how debt can create additional burdens even when borrowers have the ability to repay, and may help explain why similar debt levels affect different groups differently.

Examining Educational Attainment Outcomes: A Focus on Latina/o Community College Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 195-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent D. Carales
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Community College ◽  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Community College Students ◽  
Degree Completion ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Student Loan ◽  
College Experiences ◽  
Pull Factors ◽  
Grade Point

Objective: This study examined how a set of theoretically derived factors predicted the educational attainment outcomes of Latina/o community college students. The guiding research question was, “What precollege and background characteristics, college experiences, and environmental pull factors uniquely predict persistence, certificate or associate degree completion, and transfer or bachelor’s degree completion for a national sample of Latina/o community college students?” Method: Three logistic regression analyses were conducted using a nationally represented sample from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS: 04/09). Results: Latina/o community college student educational outcomes were found to be related to demographic or precollege variables including primary language spoken in the home, citizenship status, socioeconomic status, degree expectations; college experiences including academic integration, first-year college grade point average (GPA), enrollment intensity, co-enrollment; and environmental pull factors including the receipt of a federal student loan and Pell Grant. Conclusion: Findings underscore the importance of financial aid in promoting success outcomes and alleviate affordability concerns for Latina/o community college students. Findings also reinforce the notion of considering educational intentions when developing advising services and programs that foster or match those ambitions. Doing so will improve both student outcomes and institutional effectiveness.

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