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