Keywords

student credit expansion, tuition pass-through, federal loan caps

Abstract

We study the link between the student credit expansion of the past 15 years and the contemporaneous rise in college tuition. To disentangle simultaneity issues, we analyze the effects of increases in federal student loan caps using detailed student-level financial data. We find a pass-through effect on tuition of changes in subsidized loan maximums of about 60 cents on the dollar and of about 20 cents on the dollar for unsubsidized federal loans. The effect is most pronounced for more expensive degrees and degrees offered by for-profit and 2-year institutions.

Original Publication Citation

“Credit Supply and the Rise in College Tuition: Evidence from the Expansion in Federal Student Aid Programs.” Review of Financial Studies, 2019, Volume 32, Issue 2, Pages 423–466. Lead Article. (Co-authors: David Lucca and Karen Shen).

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2018

Publisher

Review of Financial Studies

Language

English

College

Marriott School of Business

Department

Finance

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

Share

COinS