Financial well-being and capability of widening participation students and a text message intervention to improve it

Abstract

University students are frequently cited as having some of the poorest financial well-being of the adult population, particularly those from widening participation backgrounds. Therefore, in a randomised controlled field experiment in 15 higher education institutions in England, we examine the impact of a light-touch text message intervention (over 10‐12 weeks) aimed at improving the financial capability and well-being of widening participation students. The results suggest that such an intervention has little impact on improving financial well-being or capability from baseline levels although some effect was found on improved financial attitudes, peer comparison and information seeking. Overall, such an intervention is too light-touch to have a meaningful impact and future interventions are likely to need to be stronger nudges, perhaps changing the context and cognition simultaneously, if meaningful impacts on financial well-being are to be achieved.