Research and evaluation are and should be conducted on how each element in the Personal Finance Ecosystem (PFE) impacts financial well-being, as well as the relationships and directional linkages among core elements and the Catalysts for Change. It can quantify the overall impact of the Catalysts for Change and policies, protections and regulation, and can also help to identify barriers to financial well-being. Other areas for research could include:
- Testing relationships and pathways throughout the Personal Finance Ecosystem framework to enhance understanding of various avenues to financial well-being.
- Investigating the effectiveness of Catalysts for Change and other interventions.
- Examining and validating existing assessments, instruments, indices and metrics used to measure or quantify various elements of the Personal Finance Ecosystem for increased precision and effectiveness.
Policy, including consumer protection and other regulation, can impact each area of the Ecosystem. While NEFE limits the structural policy changes’ catalysts to focus on participation in financial society, other policies can be applied elsewhere.