I am Niklas Nagel, a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Freiburg, Germany.
My research focuses on the optical retail industry, which I study empirically in the fields of Economics (Industrial Organization), Marketing (Sales Strategies, Behavioral Pricing, Customer Composition) and Ophthalmology (Epidemiological Trends, Optician Behavior).
Contact me at niklas.nagel@econ.uni-freiburg.de.
Employment
Since 02/2021 Research Associate at University of Freiburg
11/2019 to 12/2020 Country Financial Controller at EssilorLuxottica
10/2017 to 07/2019 Student Assistant in Controlling at EssilorLuxottica
Education
12/2024 Ph.D. in Economics, University of Freiburg (summa cum laude)
09/2019 Master of Science in Economics, University of Freiburg
07/2017 Bachelor of Science in Economics, University of Mannheim
Publications
Navid, Farassat, Heinrich, Sven P., Lagrèze, Wolf A., and Niklas Nagel. 2026. "Temporal trends in refractive error among children and adolescents in Germany–a large-scale analysis of spectacle sales data from dispensing opticians from 2001 to 2025." Frontiers in Public Health 14: 1854832. [Link]
Media Coverage: [DIE ZEIT], [SZ], [Pharmazeutische Zeitung], [Handelsblatt].
Gaudin, Germain, and Niklas Nagel. 2025. "Merger of complements: Empirical evidence from the eyewear industry." International Journal of Industrial Organization 103: 103114. [Link]
Niklas Nagel. 2025. "Up- and Cross-selling to Repeat Customers: Empirical Evidence from Optical Retail". Marketing ZFP – Journal of Research and Management 47 (1): 21-44. [Link] [SSRN]
Awards
2026 Jerry S. Cohen Memorial Fund Writing Award – Merger Retrospectives
For “Merger of Complements: Empirical Evidence from the Eyewear Industry”