Robert Sparrow obtained a PhD in Economics from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Tinbergen Institute in 2006. His research interests relate to development economics, social policy evaluation, health economics, and education. Current research projects deal with evaluation of health and education policy in Indonesia and Ethiopia. Since 2016 he is jointly at Wageningen University and Erasmus University Rotterdam.
He joined IZA as a Research Fellow in August 2007.