新闻 & 事件 Data Dialogue - Student Loan Debt: Racial Disparities and Shared Family Burdens

The 澳博官方网站app 研究所 hosted a Data Dialogue on November 19, 2020, to discuss student loan debt in the context of 新型冠状病毒肺炎 and disparities in how different socioeconomic and demographic groups manage student debt. The virtual discussion convened experts who are at the forefront of using data to better understand student loan issues and policies. 该小组成员包括德里克·汉密尔顿, Henry Cohen Professor of Economics and Urban Policy at The New School and founding Director at the New School’s 研究所 for the Study of Race, 分层与政治经济学, 弗雷德里克小舟, Professor of Sociology and Director of the Dignity and Debt Network at Princeton University, 和Seth Frotman, Executive Director of the Student Borrower Protection Center. 请看下面的谈话摘要和重播.

菲奥娜格雷格, JPMC研究所消费者研究部主任, opened the discussion by describing the economic impact of student loan debt, 超过1美元.为美国的借款人提供6万亿美元的贷款.S. 集体. 她指了指 研究所研究 which has shown that while most student loan borrowers are not unreasonably burdened by student loan payments, a large number of borrowers still struggle to keep up payments, and those borrowers are already economically vulnerable: lower-income, 老, 尤其是黑人借款人. 另外, the economic impacts of student debt extend to a broader portion of the population than previously thought: almost 40 percent of individuals involved in student loan repayment are helping someone else pay off their student loan debt, with most helpers holding no student loan debt themselves.

弗雷德里克小舟, 德里克·汉密尔顿, 和Seth Frotman shared insights from their 研究 and the policy implications in this panel, 由格里格主持.

What else do we need to understand about the context and policy landscape?

Frotman spoke to the speed and scale at which student loan debt has risen over the last ten years — an increase of 110 percent — and the disparities in debt burdens that disproportionately impact some particularly vulnerable groups of borrowers. 例如, borrowers over the age of 50 owe more than three times the amount owed by younger borrowers; while Black borrowers owe nearly 50 percent more than their white peers upon graduation. 调用 研究 来自资产和社会政策研究所, Frotman指出，中等白人借款人将拥有 支付 94 percent of their student loan debt twenty years after college enrollment. 然而，黑人借款人的中位数仍然 欠 95 percent of their student loan debt over the same period of time.

How does student loan debt impact college accessibility and racial disparities?

德里克·汉密尔顿 discussed the impacts of the racial wealth gap on student loan debt. 学生贷款的借款人背负了沉重的债务, 他说, and many are still recovering from the last economic recession. 更重要的是, Black student loan borrowers tend to owe more at the four-year mark after graduation -平均53美元,000美元，而平均是28美元,在同一时期，白人借款人获得了5000美元的贷款.

Hamilton noted that Black student loan borrowers are also more likely to drop out of college due to the financial burden, making it even harder to afford payments that typically begin after graduation. Many borrowers are unable to reap the economic benefits of seeking higher education whether or not they earn a degree.

What more can we learn about how people experience debt relief?

弗雷德里克小舟 discussed the idea of targeted debt assistance for some student loan borrowers. Wherry drew parallels to public welfare benefits and services — iterating that an individual’s experience with debt relief and the mode of delivery could be key factors in enabling a borrower’s sense of dignity. 太频繁, people seeking public assistance may feel they are forced through hoops, 或者僵化的官僚机构, 被迫展示自己的痛苦来寻求帮助. While targeted student debt relief may improve the financial health of its recipients, policymakers must also be careful to consider the mode of delivery to preserve each individual’s sense of dignity.

新型冠状病毒肺炎如何使情况变得更糟? 《澳博官方网站app》是否开启了一场新的对话?

Panelists also described the potential for policymakers to consider new ways forward given the availability of data. The 新型冠状病毒肺炎 pandemic has highlighted the pervasiveness and burden of student loan debt. 《澳博官方网站app》, 于今年3月签署成为法律, provided payment forbearance for student loan borrowers. 《澳博官方网站app》将于12月结束, the panelists emphasized that policymakers have the opportunity to consider new guardrails and supportive measures to prevent forthcoming borrowers from falling into the student debt trap and may consider options for debt relief. Let data coupled with compassion have the last say, Wherry ended.

We are grateful to the panelists for their expert insights and perspectives, which are invaluable as we navigate the road to financial health and economic recovery.