Robert J. LaLonde was a professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. His research focuses on program evaluation, education and training of the workforce, economic effects of immigration on developed countries, costs of worker displacement, impact of unions and collective bargaining in the United States, and economic and social consequences of incarceration.

He received his PhD in economics from Princeton University and joined the University of Chicago in 1985, having previously been an associate professor of economics at Michigan State University. He was a research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) since 1986 and served as a senior staff economist at the Council of Economic Advisers during the 1987–1988 academic year. Later he served as a member of the Board of Directors of Public/Private Ventures, a national nonprofit organization with the mission of improving the effectiveness of social policies, programs, and community initiatives.

Robert J. LaLonde joined IZA as a Research Fellow in January 2001. He passed away much too early in January 2018.