The bottlenecks in making sense of financial well-being

Abstract

Purpose

Financial well-being has gained increased attention in research, policy and the financial sector. The authors contribute to this emerging field by drawing attention to the bottlenecks in financial well-being research and proposing ways for transforming and advancing it.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a semi-systematic review of the latest 120 financial well-being studies from both academic and grey literature and analyse the current issues in defining, conceptualising and measuring it.

Findings

The authors identify the need for a more human-centred approach across content and methodology, conceptualisation and operationalisation, research and practice, that focusses on how individuals experience, interpret and assess financial well-being. The authors highlight the lack of evidence-based interventions for improving financial well-being.

Practical implications

The authors propose applying design science approach for redefining the problems that individuals need help in solving and for developing and testing interventions that improve financial well-being and are in line with individuals’ needs and aspirations. The authors also call for international qualitative research into the human perspective of financial well-being.

Social implications

Financial well-being has a significant role in mental health and well-being; therefore, it affects the lives of individuals and societies far beyond financial affairs. Change of perspective can lead to evidence-based interventions that better the lives of many, reduce inequality and develop more balanced communities.

Originality/value

The authors argue that the human dimension has been assumed in financial well-being research, practice and police, rather than confirmed, based on flawed assumptions that what people experience is already known.

Peer review

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-11-2022-0741

Citation

Riitsalu, L., Atkinson, A. and Pello, R. (2023), "The bottlenecks in making sense of financial well-being", International Journal of Social Economics, Vol. 50 No. 10, pp. 1402-1422. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-11-2022-0741