Krzysztof Czarnecki. Photo: Magnus Dahl

SOFI researcher Krzysztof Czarnecki has recently been awarded a research grant from Riksbankens Jubileumsfond for his project "To Borrow or Not to Borrow?" The project examines the factors influencing students' propensity to utilize student loans—a topic of great significance for educational policy and students' financial well-being.

In many countries, student loans are essential in enabling and funding higher education. Despite this, the proportion of students who take advantage of their right to loans varies significantly across different systems. Czarnecki's research focuses on institutional and individual factors that impact student loan uptake and the potential consequences of these factors.

The research project consists of several components, including developing the "Student Support and Fees Dataset," which contains detailed information on government-subsidized student loans in 34 advanced economies from 2010 to 2022. This dataset will be used to comprehensively analyze how different types of loans and levels of subsidization affect loan utilization rates. The project also includes unique survey experiments and data from the Eurostudent surveys, aiming to provide insights into how students' attitudes toward loans and their willingness to incur debt vary depending on various factors.

By identifying factors that promote the effective and sustainable use of student loans, the project has the potential to contribute to improvements in educational policy.

Learn more

"To Borrow or Not to Borrow?" research project

Krzysztof Czarnecki profile page

Riksbankens Jubileumsfond home page