Research Degree: Social Science

I have been part of the research team that modeled an equitable and sustainable Income Contingent Loan Scheme for Colombia that led to the introduction of the policy in the country (Which received the ESRC Outstanding Public Policy Impact prize in 2022). This was a much-needed step in reforming the Higher Education financing system in Colombia but does not come close to solving the socio-economic gaps and problem for current student loan holders, and new students who will not have access to Income Contingent Loans due to limited capacity of the policy implemented.
My research proposal builds on the work of Aragon, Chapman, Dearden and Pulido to design options to reform the loan system (replacing forgivable loans with ICLs, transiting current debtor to ICL, and expanding current policy to already enrolled students in higher education and postgraduate students, etc.) and the public system (replacing free provision with ICL) aiming at transforming the higher education provision in Colombia. Moreover, to increase the influence on policy design I will build a publically available model that allows policy makers to parametrize their own scheme (interest rates, repayment rates, length, etc.) and make transparent the implication for current students, graduates, taxpayers, and public and private higher education institutions.
To do the analysis I will use a novelty dataset in Colombia that linked School-exit exams (mandatory for every student to graduate from high-school), Higher-education enrolment and outcomes (degree, duration, graduation, dropout, HE exit exam), and Labor Market information (monthly records since 2009 that characterize formal employment and earnings)