Heiko Karle

Heiko Karle is an Associate Professor of Microeconomics at the Economics & Law Department of Frankfurt School of Finance & Management since August 2019. Previously, he held a Junior Professorship (equivalent to Assistant Professor) at the same institution from September 2016 to August 2019. He is also a CEPR Research Fellow and CESifo Research Fellow.

His career includes a postdoctoral position at the Center for Law and Economics of ETH Zurich (2012–2016), research at the European Centre for Advanced Research in Economics and Statistics (ECARES) of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (2009–2012), and graduate training at the University of Mannheim (PhD, 2012; Diplom in Economics, 2007). He has held visiting positions at the Toulouse School of Economics (PhD studies) and the University of California, Berkeley (undergraduate studies).

His research focuses on Industrial Organization and Behavioral Economics, particularly on how loss aversion and psychological switching costs influence consumer behavior and firm strategies in competitive markets. His work explores topics such as advertising dynamics, platform competition, contract design, and pre-purchase information. He has published extensively in top-tier journals including the Journal of Political Economy, RAND Journal of Economics, and Management Science.

Recent publications highlight trends in behavioral pricing, digital market design, and psychological incentives in economic interactions. His 2025 Management Science article on Imperfect Targeting and Advertising Strategies demonstrates how firms optimize marketing under consumer loss aversion.

Scientific Awards & Affiliations:

• CEPR Research Fellow
• CESifo Research Fellow

He leads the DFG-FWF funded research group “Consumer Preferences, Consumer Mistakes, and Firms’ Response,” which secured several million EUR in grants and filled three full-time postdoc positions starting in Fall 2023. His teaching includes Microeconomics and Decision Theory at the undergraduate level.