Alpaslan Akay

Alpaslan Akay is an Associate Professor at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, where he also earned his Ph.D. in Economics in March 2008. He maintains a dual affiliation as a Research Fellow at IZA (Institute of Labor Economics), having progressed from Research Associate (2008) to Senior Research Associate (2011) before becoming a permanent Research Fellow in 2013 with regular visiting status.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Economics, University of Gothenburg, 2008

His research integrates Experimental and Behavioral Economics with Happiness Economics, Migration Studies, and advanced quantitative methods. He examines how subjective well-being interacts with economic behavior, migration decisions, and social contexts through rigorous experimental designs and large-scale data analysis. Key methodological approaches include Microeconometrics and Monte Carlo Simulations to address complex behavioral questions.

Analysis of his 2014-2023 publications reveals consistent focus on well-being determinants, particularly how terrorism, migration, and relative income concerns impact happiness and decision-making. His work frequently appears in top-tier economics journals like European Economic Review and Journal of Human Resources, demonstrating strong interdisciplinary connections between labor economics, behavioral science, and migration studies.