[paretoer]

I don't personally see a solution other than student loan money being much harder to get.

There is so much bad research because there are too many researchers.

For myself, I think I am smart enough to have worked on a PhD in economics but not smart enough to have done anything worthwhile or to have advanced the field. I am certain I would not have. Then in the face of this massive student loan debt I would have produced junk research and try to game the system to make the investment worthwhile. The incentives are all ridiculous in the current system for most.

The idea politicians will cut student loan money in order to produce better scientific research would be a good way to optimize for losing an election.

Personally, I don't think there is a way out. If anything it probably just gets worse.

[EvgeniyZh]

There are countries where student loans are not a thing and the science there arguably faces the same problem.

PhD is not paid by a student even in US, it's all scholarships.