Transdisciplinary research: reflections on the study of finance and well-being

Abstract

This paper reflects on the transdisciplinary nature of the work carried out under Work Package 5 [WP5] – Finance and well-being. It examines the research that has informed the conceptualisation and operationalisation of the survey that was implemented in five countries representative of different types of system in the EU – Germany, Poland, Portugal, Sweden and the UK. The survey aims were to help identify the nature, causes and consequences of recent household relationships with the financial sector and the impact of financialisation and of the crisis on well-being. The paper argues that the work carried out under WP5 has been a genuinely transdisciplinary endeavour through identifying its main characteristics and accomplishments. General lessons are drawn over conditions that favour inter- and transdisciplinary research.