Due to the unknown future economic situation of students, private banks are unwilling to provide student loans in the absence of collateral. This market failure requires government intervention to prevent socially sub-optimal and regressive outcomes. Income contingent loans, whose repayment...

There is a significant and on-going unease with, and debate concerning, the state of US college loans. One of the most important questions relates to so-called “repayment burdens”, the financial difficulties associated with repayments. This paper examines the issue from both theoretical and...

The relative costs of taking employment or receiving welfare are usually understood through comparisons of a person’s social security entitlements and their wage alternative, known as replacement rates. In some situations it appears that the additional income from working is negligible, and...

This paper presents analysis of the implicit subsidies and repayment hardships of Thailand’s Student Loan Fund (SLF). Comparisons are made between the current SLF with alternative similar schemes, assuming different rates of interest and loan repayment periods. We find that the implicit...

It is well known that higher education financing involves uncertainty and risk with respect to students’ future economic fortunes, and an unwillingness of banks to provide loans because of the absence of collateral. It follows that without government intervention there will be both socially...

This paper illustrates the extent of implicit taxpayer subsidies under four possible income contingent loan (ICL) arrangements for Thailand: TICAL, implemented in 2007 only, a variant of TICAL, and two alternative ICL schemes. The implicit taxpayer subsidy calculated with respect to average...

This chapter compares and contrasts international experience with respect to higher education financing. The size and payment forms of tuition, and the different types and levels of public sector support, are illustrated for a large number of countries. A major aspect of the discussion concerns...

The current system for the imposition and collection of fines in Australia is significantly flawed. Fines are often inappropriately imposed or not imposed, inequitable, have high default rates and are expensive to enforce. This paper suggests an alternative scheme for the enforcement and...

It is well known that there is no consensus with respect to the relationship between unemployment and crime. As well, there is very little research on the linkages between crime and the educational experiences of young people. In this paper we show a very strong positive relationship between...