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Racial Disparities in Student Loan Affordability

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Racial Disparities in Student Loan Affordability
Language: English
Authors: Umair Tarbhai, Ethan Pollack, JFF (Jobs for the Future)
Source: Jobs for the Future. 2024.
Availability: Jobs for the Future. 88 Broad Street 8th Floor, Boston, MA 02110. Tel: 617-728-4446; Fax: 617-728-4857; e-mail: info@jff.org; Web site: http://www.jff.org
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 23
Publication Date: 2024
Document Type: Reports - Research
Descriptors: Student Loan Programs, Loan Repayment, Race, Debt (Financial), Income, Disproportionate Representation, Federal Aid, African Americans, Whites, Hispanic Americans
Abstract: Student debt has exploded over the past several decades, rising to over $1.7 trillion. Federal student loans represent over 90% of student loan balances, with private financing making up the remainder. Research has shown that the negative impact of student debt has not been distributed equally across different demographics, with Black borrowers disproportionately feeling the adverse effects of student debt. Yet to date, little research has explored how monthly repayment burdens-- defined as the borrower's monthly payment as a share of their earnings--vary across different demographic groups or how that may relate to the specific fixed-payment structure of student loans. This study uses the 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), a comprehensive national survey of U.S. families' financial lives, to identify differences in monthly repayment burdens across racial groups. The study found that, on average, Black borrowers pay a greater percentage of their monthly income toward student loans than white borrowers.
Abstractor: ERIC
Entry Date: 2024
Accession Number: ED660483
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:Student debt has exploded over the past several decades, rising to over $1.7 trillion. Federal student loans represent over 90% of student loan balances, with private financing making up the remainder. Research has shown that the negative impact of student debt has not been distributed equally across different demographics, with Black borrowers disproportionately feeling the adverse effects of student debt. Yet to date, little research has explored how monthly repayment burdens-- defined as the borrower's monthly payment as a share of their earnings--vary across different demographic groups or how that may relate to the specific fixed-payment structure of student loans. This study uses the 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), a comprehensive national survey of U.S. families' financial lives, to identify differences in monthly repayment burdens across racial groups. The study found that, on average, Black borrowers pay a greater percentage of their monthly income toward student loans than white borrowers.