Estimation of the effects of adverse selection and moral hazard on income-contingent loan plans for professional and graduate students

The increasing repayment burden of conventional student loans and the rapid growth of attendance costs are concerns that should spark renewed interest in income-contingent loans, especially for students in high-cost graduate and professional programs. This paper provides a model of the demand for income-contingent loans that can be used to estimate the possible effects of adverse selection and moral hazard on the financial viability of income-contingent loan plans. Simulations based on the loan-demand model are presented for medical students, and the results are discussed in terms of alternative options for reducing the effects of adverse selection and moral hazard.