Prottoy Akbar

Prottoy Akbar is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at Aalto University. His research focuses on urban and transportation economics, with a particular emphasis on racial segregation, public transport accessibility, and mobility patterns in developing countries. He holds a Doctoral degree in Business and Economics from the University of Pittsburgh (2021), a Master's from the same institution (2017), and a Bachelor's from Middlebury College (2013).

Key research areas include analyzing how housing market dynamics and transportation policies affect wealth disparities, particularly for Black communities, and studying urban congestion in cities like India and Bogotá. He has explored topics such as peer monitoring in profit-sharing workplaces and heterogeneous agglomeration economies in developing regions.

His articles often bridge theoretical economic models with real-world data, using tools like Google Maps and National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) to analyze mobility metrics. Notable contributions include work on transit accessibility's role in income segregation and the impact of faster public transit on low-income populations.

Akbar has been featured in media discussions on urban mobility challenges in India and the intersection of racial segregation with economic inequality. He collaborates with institutions like the Helsinki Graduate School of Economics and the Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR).