Professor of Economics, School of Economics, Finance and Property, Curtin University
Rachel Ong ViforJ is Professor of Economics at the School of Economics and Finance, Curtin University.
Rachel’s research addresses a range of important housing policy issues, including housing affordability dynamics, housing pathways in the new millennium, housing wealth as an asset base for welfare, intergenerational housing concerns, and the links between housing and the economy. She has long-standing expertise in the evaluation of housing tax-transfer reforms.
Rachel also has an established research record in the area of population ageing and has conducted extensive research into the role of home ownership within the retirement incomes system, employment decisions of older workers, and workforce vulnerabilities in mid-to-late life.
Rachel has been appointed to several expert panels including the National Economic Panel. She is a Member of the Steering Committee of the Asia-Pacific Network for Housing Research. She is currently Editor-in-Chief of the Economic Papers, one of two journals published by the Economic Society of Australia which features high-quality research in applied economics and economic policy analysis.
Our housing system is broken and the poorest Australians are being hardest hit
Apr 25, 2024 06:06 am UTC| Insights & Views Real Estate
Just when we think the price of rentals could not get any worse, this weeks Rental Affordability Snapshot by Anglicare has revealed low-income Australians are facing a housing crisis like never before. In fact, if you...
$1 billion per year (or less) could halve rental housing stress
Nov 02, 2020 09:14 am UTC| Real Estate
COVID has shown us whats possible when it comes to alleviating poverty. For six months JobSeeker payments were doubled and then maintained at a level 50% above normal. When the bonus finishes at year end it is likely...
When falling home ownership and ageing baby boomers collide
Sep 25, 2018 10:10 am UTC| Insights & Views Real Estate
Until now, the majority of older people in Australia have achieved the goal of owning their own home outright. Hence, policymakers have typically shown little concern about the size and budget costs of rental housing...
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