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Conceptualizing and Measuring Financial Resilience: A Multidimensional Framework

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Abstract

Financial inclusion has become a policy priority. For many countries, this has meant focusing on the delivery and practical aspects of financial products and services. This paper argues that this approach is not sufficient to improve financial wellbeing more broadly. It suggests a more comprehensive approach moving away from asking whether people are excluded or not to asking whether they have access to accessible, acceptable and appropriate resources and supports in adverse financial circumstances. A better understanding of individuals’ financial resilience: how they bounce back from adverse financial events and the resources and supports they draw on; could help determine where resources can and should be invested to assist people to cope with financial adversity, assist the development of effective policy and, ultimately, improve financial wellbeing. This paper puts forward a definition of financial resilience and a methodology for measuring it. Australia is used as a case country from which to draw conclusions using a survey of 1496 representative adults (18+). The findings indicate that over 2 million Australian adults experienced severe or high levels of financial vulnerability raising very real concerns about financial wellbeing. Implications for academics and policy makers are presented.

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Notes

  1. Some questions required a simple yes/no response while others a graded response. Note that several questions require an element of ‘self-assessment’ by the respondent and, while this is a normal approach in surveys, it does have some limitations.

  2. These groups all had significantly different financial resilience scores compared to the overall population (p < 0.01).

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Australia Bank.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kedge Business School, 680, Cours de la Libération, 33405, Talence Cedex, France

    Fanny Salignac

  2. Centre for Social Impact, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

    Axelle Marjolin & Kristy Muir

  3. Centre for Social Impact and Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

    Rebecca Reeve

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  1. Fanny Salignac
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Correspondence to Fanny Salignac.

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Salignac, F., Marjolin, A., Reeve, R. et al. Conceptualizing and Measuring Financial Resilience: A Multidimensional Framework. Soc Indic Res 145, 17–38 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-019-02100-4

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