The Impact of the Swedish Student Financial Aid Income Ceiling - A Student Perspective

Abstract: Swedish students obtaining student financial aid from Centrala Studiestödsnämnden (CSN) face an income ceiling of how much they can earn per half a calendar year before their aid is lowered according to a matrix. The thesis investigates how CSN’s income ceiling impacts students. It is important to examine it as it is a hot topic both in the public debate and among politicians. The analysis of the research is undertaken by a survey targeted at Swedish students in upper education, together with previous literature and relevant economic theories. The primary findings from the survey are that students appear to wish to work more, and quite a few have the need for it, mostly during the summer, but they are limited by the income ceiling. Hence, the author proposes that the policies regarding the income ceiling should be changed, so that the summer break is not included in the income ceiling. Due to the possible administrative reasons why such a proposal is not feasible, the author instead proposes that the income ceiling be increased by 30.000 SEK per half a year, as it is the median monthly income in Sweden. Hence, it would allow students to earn more freely during the summer and the semester, so that they can both earn money to pay living expenses and also work to gain human capital without any mental stress of losing their student financial aid.