scholarly journals Expanding the Theoretical Framework in Student Debt Research by Connecting Public Policy Theories to the Student Debt Literature

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 211-219
Author(s):  
Ruth Endam Mbah
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Social Contract ◽  
Contract Theory ◽  
Social Contract Theory ◽  
Student Loan ◽  
Student Debt ◽  
Student Loan Debt ◽  
Utilitarian Theory

 Current changes in the economic atmosphere have severely impacted the higher education sector worldwide. Policymakers worldwide are facing the challenge of adjusting tuition and financial aid programs in response to these changing economic times. The shift from federal grants to loans has caused student loans to be a popular means of funding higher education for most low and medium-income families. A result of this, is the increase in student loan default as most college students graduate with unmanageable debts, thus, a rising concern for policymakers. The purpose of this paper is to link four public policy theories (Social Contract Theory, Utilitarian Theory, Theory of Neoliberalism, and Three-Policy Stream Theory) to student loan literature. This is to expand the limited database of public policy theories in student loan debt literature. This theoretical linkage points out the role of policymakers in (1) ensuring the security of lives and the preservation of the property of those who voted them into power (Social Contract Theory); (2) establishing educational policies that ensure the ‘the greatest happiness of the greatest number’ (Utilitarian Theory); (3) upholding social welfare or a ‘welfare state’ through fiscal and monetary policies to ensure high employment rates for graduates, low inflation and the provision of public goods (Theory of Neoliberalism), and (4) the risk of undermining the growing power of an informal interest group that is made up of millennials saddled with student loan debt (Three-Policy Stream). These theories reiterate the principal role of policymakers in enhancing human capital through affordable education.

The Hobbesian Hypothesis: How a Colonial Prejudice Became an Essential Premise in the Most Popular Justification of Government

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl Widerquist ◽  
Grant S. McCall
Keyword(s):  
Social Contract ◽  
Contract Theory ◽  
Thomas Hobbes ◽  
Social Contract Theory ◽  
The State ◽  
Moral Standard ◽  
Empirical Claim ◽  
Lockean Proviso ◽  
Disadvantaged People

This chapter introduces the role of “the Hobbesian hypothesis” in social contract theory by discussing how Thomas Hobbes introduced it. It defines the version of “the Lockean proviso” relevant to social contract theory as the following moral standard: for a state to be justified virtually everyone must be better off under the state than they could reasonably expect to be in any stateless environment. The chapter defines the contractarian version of “the Hobbesian hypothesis” as the empirical claim that the Lockean proviso is fulfilled by the state: the state benefits everyone or at least everyone who prefers safety to a perilous environment devoid of security. The chapter argues that any plausible justification of existing states drawn from broadly Hobbesian or contractarian principles relies on this hypothesis as an empirical premise comparing the welfare of disadvantaged people in state society and people in stateless societies.

The Effect of Student Loan Debt on Spending: The Role of Repayment Format

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-318
Author(s):  
Yi Zhang ◽  
Ronald T. Wilcox ◽  
Amar Cheema
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Student Loan ◽  
Consumer Finance ◽  
Student Loan Debt ◽  
Policy Perspective ◽  
Lump Sum ◽  
Goal Disengagement ◽  
Loan Debt

Across three studies, the authors investigate the effect of student loan debt on spending. Evidence from consumer finance data and experimental scenarios reveals that borrowers with moderate student loan debt are less likely to spend than people with low (or no) debt. However, borrowers with high debt are more likely to spend relative to those with moderate debt. The latter effect is consistent with goal disengagement, as paying off high student loan debt seems difficult. Importantly, the spending propensity associated with high student loan debt is attenuated by presenting the debt in a monthly payment (vs. lump-sum) format, which reduces perceived payoff difficulty. From a public policy perspective, the authors recommend that estimated monthly payments be included in all student loan disclosures.

The public doesn’t miss the public. Views from the people: Why news by the people?

Journalism ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 577-594 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Karlsson ◽  
Christer Clerwall ◽  
Lars Nord
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
Social Contract ◽  
Contract Theory ◽  
Social Contract Theory ◽  
Representative Survey ◽  
The Public ◽  
The People ◽  
Public Views ◽  
Journalism Research

One of the main debates within journalism research during the last decade has been the role of citizens as contributors or, conversely, as threats to the practice of journalism. While participation has been explored from many different theoretical, empirical, and methodological perspectives, one perspective remains noticeably underexplored – the perspective of the citizens themselves. Using social contract theory as a backdrop, this study draws on a representative survey ( N = 2091) and focus groups ( N = 82) in Sweden. The results show that although citizens do not bring up participation as an important element of journalism, they become more skeptical the more participation affects journalism. Furthermore, they expect journalists to moderate citizen contributions according to established journalistic standards. From the perspective of social contract theory, participation in journalism appears to be more of a problem than a benefit to citizens.

scholarly journals On the role of government in promoting altruism

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (11) ◽  
pp. 1156-1170
Author(s):  
Enrico Colombatto ◽  
Valerio Tavormina
Keyword(s):  
Social Contract ◽  
Contract Theory ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Social Contract Theory ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Discretionary Power ◽  
Role Of Government ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Common

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss whether altruism justifies ad hoc legislation with reference to three different contexts. One is defined by the libertarian notion of liberty; a second framework corresponds to the egalitarian vision; and a third one originates from social-contract theory. Design/methodology/approach The authors review two stylized visions of liberty, and consider to what extent the current legal systems comply with one of these visions. Moreover, the authors analyse the implications of the contractarian approach. Findings It is shown that current legislation is rather ambiguous and sometimes even contradictory. By and large, the common-law view tends to favour the libertarian approach, while the civil-law visions are closer to what one might expect from social-contract theory. In these cases, however, it seems that the letter of the law is often questioned by the academic community as well as by the judiciary, and decisions eventually follow the judges’ discretionary power. Originality/value This analysis of altruism combines the economic and legal perspectives. Although altruism is always considered an important part of social capital and worthy of privileged treatment, it is shown that policymaking is frequently inconsistent and sometimes contradictory.

Contemporary Social Contract Theory and Hegel’s Master/Bondsman-Relation

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 160-178
Author(s):  
Arthur Kok
Keyword(s):  
Social Contract ◽  
Contract Theory ◽  
Social Contract Theory ◽  
Fear Of Death ◽  
The Social ◽  
Rational Argumentation ◽  
Limited Scope

This contribution investigates whether Hegel’s critique of social contract theory is still applicable to contemporary contract theory proposed by, e. g., Rawls and Nozick. At first sight, they seem to have overcome the problems identified by Hegel because Rawls and Nozick appropriate the social contract as something essentially rational and normative (though in different ways). I argue, however, that for Hegel, their appeal to rational argumentation is not compatible with the concreteness of human individuals. A revised reading of the master/ bondsman-relation, emphasizing the role of the “fear of death”, shows the limited scope of contemporary contract theory.

Racial Capitalism and the Black Student Loan Debt Crisis

2021 ◽  
Vol 123 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-28
Author(s):  
Jalil B. Mustaffa ◽  
Caleb Dawson
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Black Student ◽  
Black People ◽  
Student Loans ◽  
Debt Crisis ◽  
Student Loan ◽  
Student Debt ◽  
Student Loan Debt ◽  
Racial Capitalism ◽  
Loan Debt

Background/Context Student loans reflect a larger shift in U.S. society in which people are forced to go into debt for basic needs. Student loan debt in the United States has been recognized as a political economic crisis that disproportionately devastates Black people. Scholars have statistically reported on racialized and gendered stratification in student loan outcomes and several name the racial wealth gap as the main contributing factor to the Black student debt crisis. Yet minimal attention has been dedicated to examining, let alone theorizing, the logics and systemic forces that racialize debt in higher education. Purpose Drawing on a theory of racial capitalism, this article fills analytic and theoretical gaps in the study of the Black student debt crisis by detailing how the crisis has been arranged as well as how it functions to constrain, dispossess, and exploit Black people. Research Design This article offers a corrective history, systematic analysis, and theoretical explanation of the Black student debt crisis. Findings/Results The paper draws on racial capitalism to account for how student loans as a policy has relied on anti-Black racial logics and systemic forces. The authors address how Black educational desires are co-opted, the government configures inclusion according to predatory terms, and the student loan industry forms a debt trap that exploits repayment struggles. While the majority of Black people who enroll in higher education never secure the promise of college as always “worth it,” the arrangement continues to be worthwhile for student loan profiteers. Student loans are perfect for racial capitalism because they answer demands for social access and inclusion (which are already reduced to mean credentialism) and reproduce both the disposability and dispossession of Black people's everyday lives. Conclusions/Recommendations The authors call for the full cancellation of student loan debt. This call forms part of a larger mobilization to abolish the racist logics, processes, and policies that make the Black student debt crisis and Black precarity possible in the first place.

scholarly journals Contracting for Catastrophe:Legitimizing Emergency Constitutions by Drawing on Social Contract Theory

Res Publica ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Voigt
Keyword(s):  
Social Contract ◽  
Contract Theory ◽  
Social Contract Theory ◽  
Constitutional Rights ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Half Century ◽  
States Of Emergency ◽  
The World

AbstractStates of emergency are declared frequently in all parts of the world. Their declaration routinely implies a suspension of basic constitutional rights. In the last half century, it has become the norm for constitutions to contain an explicit ‘emergency constitution’, i.e., the constitutionally safeguarded rules of operation for a state of emergency. In this paper, I ask whether inclusion of an emergency constitution can be legitimized by drawing on social contract theory. I argue that there are important arguments, both against and in favor of constitutionalized emergency provisions, and that social contract theory—as applied by economists—can be of some help when deciding whether to have, or not to have an emergency constitution. This paper introduces a novel argument for justifying emergency constitutions. It argues that they can serve as a commitment mechanism protecting both citizens and politicians from overreacting to rare but significant threats.

scholarly journals Evaluating social contract theory in the light of evolutionary social science

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-45
Author(s):  
Paul Seabright ◽  
Jonathan Stieglitz ◽  
Karine Van der Straeten
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Social Contract ◽  
Contract Theory ◽  
Social Contract Theory
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