In the U.S., student debt is currently the second largest component of consumer debt. Households are required to repay these loans early in their lifecycle, when marginal utility is particularly high. We study alternative contracts that offer partial or full payment deferral until later in life. We calibrate an economy with the current contracts, and then solve for counterfactual equilibria. The alternative contracts yield large welfare gains, which are robust to assumptions about the behavior of the lenders and borrower preferences. The gains are similar to those that could come from the debt relief program currently being considered in the U.S., but without its adverse fiscal implications.

中文翻译：

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现在借，以后还：学生债务偿还计划的定量分析


在美国，学生债务目前是消费者债务的第二大组成部分。家庭需要在其生命周期的早期偿还这些贷款，此时边际效用特别高。我们研究提供部分或全部付款推迟到晚年的替代合同。我们用当前的合约来校准经济，然后求解反事实均衡。替代合同产生巨大的福利收益，这对于贷款人行为和借款人偏好的假设是稳健的。这些收益与美国目前正在考虑的债务减免计划可能带来的收益类似，但不会产生不利的财政影响。