ABSTRACT Much of the student loan literature focuses on institutional, individual, and family- level characteristics associated with indebtedness, default, and other undesirable post-graduation outcomes; however, relatively little research examines the role that federal policy has played in student borrowing. This study addresses this gap by analyzing the effects of a change in Stafford loan limits that impacted one subgroup of borrowers. Findings consistently revealed that increases in federal loan limits did not result in students borrowing more. Instead, students utilized newly available Stafford loan dollars to substitute away from other loan sources with less favorable terms, such as private and parent PLUS loans.

中文翻译：

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借得更聪明还是借得更多？调查联邦贷款政策变化的影响

摘要 许多学生贷款文献侧重于与负债、违约和其他不良毕业后结果相关的机构、个人和家庭层面的特征；然而，相对较少的研究考察了联邦政策在学生借贷中所起的作用。本研究通过分析斯塔福德贷款限额变化对一个借款人子群产生的影响来弥补这一差距。调查结果一致表明，联邦贷款限额的增加并未导致学生借贷更多。相反，学生利用新可用的斯塔福德贷款美元来替代其他条件较差的贷款来源，例如私人和父母 PLUS 贷款。