Student Loans: Overview and Issues

Abstract

This report provides a detailed overview of the student loan market, presents new statistics that highlight student loan debt burdens and delinquency rates, and discusses current concerns among many Americans about student loans, including their fiscal impact. The report is intended to enhance awareness of the state of student loan debt and delinquency and highlight issues facing borrowers, creditors, the federal government, and society at large. While the report does not offer specific suggestions on how to address the problems it highlighted, it does suggest some areas of concern to think about as policymakers consider student loans, and what some term to be the associated “crisis” around them. The clear message is that student loans present problems for some borrowers that are well worth addressing. At the same time, the analysis suggests that student loans do not yet impose a significant burden on society from their fiscal impact.

Keywords: student loans, personal debt, fiscal burden

JEL Classification: I22, I23, D14, H52