IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/jfinan/v79y2024i2p1249-1295.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Aversion to Student Debt? Evidence from Low‐Wage Workers

Author

Listed:
  • RADHAKRISHNAN GOPALAN
  • BARTON H. HAMILTON
  • JORGE SABAT
  • DAVID SOVICH

Abstract

We combine state minimum wage changes with individual‐level income and credit data to estimate the effect of wage gains on the debt of low‐wage workers. In the three years following a $0.88 minimum wage increase, low‐wage workers experience a $2,712 income increase and a $856 decrease in debt. The entire decline in debt comes from less student loan borrowing among enrolled college students. Credit constraints, buffer‐stock behavior, and other rational channels cannot explain the reduction in student debt. Our results are consistent with students perceiving a utility cost of borrowing student debt arising from mental accounting.

Suggested Citation

  • Radhakrishnan Gopalan & Barton H. Hamilton & Jorge Sabat & David Sovich, 2024. "Aversion to Student Debt? Evidence from Low‐Wage Workers," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 79(2), pages 1249-1295, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jfinan:v:79:y:2024:i:2:p:1249-1295
    DOI: 10.1111/jofi.13297
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/jofi.13297
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/jofi.13297?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:jfinan:v:79:y:2024:i:2:p:1249-1295. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/afaaaea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.