Worthington, 2004(1), Emergency Funds in Australian Households: An Empirical Analysis of Capacity and Sources

Financial
Counseling and Planning

The Journal of the
Association for Financial
Counseling and
Planning Education


VolumeĀ  15(1),
2004

Emergency Funds in
Australian Households: An Empirical Analysis of Capacity and Sources

Andrew C. Worthington

    This paper examines
    demographic and socioeconcomic characteristics as predictors of
    emergency fund adequacy in Australian households. The results indicate
    that the presence of children, the number of dependents and
    income-earning units, the age and ethnicity of the household head,
    income dependency upon retirement plans and investments and government
    pensions and benefits, homeownership and disposable income are
    significant determinants of the capacity to raise emergency funds. They
    are also important predictors of the likely source of emergency funds.
    However, they are generally better at predicting mainstay sources of
    funds such as savings and loans from deposit-tkaing institutions and
    credit card usage.

    Keywords: Emergency funds