Student loans for higher education

In recent years, economic circumstances have forced a wide range of governments to examine ways of spreading the cost of education. Introduction of loan schemes for higher education has been a particularly popular suggestion. Although schemes work well in some countries, however, in others they have worked poorly and have suffered from high default rates. The Hong Kong system, which was launched in 1969, operates efficiently. Many factors contributing to this are specific to the local situation, but other governments might find it instructive to examine the Hong Kong experience. In turn, others may also be able to teach Hong Kong some useful lessons.