Economics
Student-Debt Overhang Is Pushing Down U.S. Rates, Dudley Says
- Debt load is inhibiting homeownership, New York Fed data show
- Free college is a "reasonable conversation" to have, he says
QuickTake: U.S. Student Loan Debt
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The rising burden of student debt is weighing on interest rates in the U.S., and it would be a “reasonable conversation” for policy makers to explore making college tuition free, Federal Reserve Bank of New York President William Dudley said.
The growing pile of student debt is “obviously one headwind to economic activity” that “probably pushes in that direction of lower equilibrium real rates” because it limits households’ spending power, Dudley said Monday during a press briefing in New York.