Stephen Whelan – The Conversation

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July 13, 2025

Soaring house prices may be locking people into marriages, new research shows

Stephen Whelan, University of Sydney and Luke Hartigan, University of Sydney

Divorce rates are near 50-year lows. The high cost of housing could be a big factor.

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December 11, 2024

Our analysis of wealth trends suggests Australia’s middle class may be ‘shrinking’

Melek Cigdem-Bayram, The University of Melbourne; Gavin Wood, RMIT University; Miranda Stewart, The University of Melbourne, and Stephen Whelan, University of Sydney

Between 2002 and 2018, some groups actually increased their wealth on certain measures. For young people and middle Australians, however, it’s a more sobering picture.

Queensland Minister for Housing and Public Works Mick de Brenni announced a $2b housing scheme he said would create more affordable housing in the state. AAP/AARON BUNCH

December 11, 2018

FactCheck: did more people buy their seventh home than bought their first home last year?

Stephen Whelan, University of Sydney

Queensland Minister for Housing and Public Works Mick de Brenni made the claim while announcing a $2 billion housing investment scheme. But is the claim correct?

Unions, which traditionally protected wages at the bottom end, are starting to tap into community anger at the wealth flowing to the top end of town. Mick Tsikas/AAP

October 24, 2018

The fair go is a fading dream, but don’t write it off

Garry Barrett, University of Sydney and Stephen Whelan, University of Sydney

This is the first article in a series, Reclaiming the Fair Go, to mark the awarding of the 2018 Sydney Peace Prize to Nobel laureate and economist Joseph Stiglitz.

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