Malcolm Sparrow

Malcolm K. Sparrow is Professor of the Practice of Public Management at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He is Faculty Chair of the school’s executive program “Strategic Management of Regulatory and Enforcement Agencies.” Professor Sparrow’s recent publications include:

Handcuffed: What Holds Policing Back & the Keys to Reform (Brookings Press, 2016)

The Character of Harms: Operational Challenges in Control (Cambridge University Press, 2008)

The Regulatory Craft: Controlling Risks, Solving Problems, and Managing Compliance (Brookings Press, 2000)

License to Steal: How Fraud Bleeds America's Health Care System (Westview Press, 2000)

He served 10 years with the British Police Service, rising to the rank of Detective Chief Inspector. He has conducted internal affairs investigations, commanded a tactical firearms unit, and has extensive experience with criminal investigation. His research interests include regulatory and enforcement strategy, fraud control, corruption control, and operational risk management. He is also a patent-holding inventor in the area of computerized fingerprint analysis and is dead serious at tennis. He holds an MA in mathematics from Cambridge University, an MPA from the Kennedy School, and a PhD in Applied Mathematics from Kent University at Canterbury.

Selected Publications

Academic Journal/Scholarly Articles

Sparrow, Malcolm K. "Fraud in the U.S. Health Care System: Exposing the Vulnerabilities of Automated Payment Systems." Social Research 75.4 (Winter 2008).

Books

• Sparrow, Malcolm K. Handcuffed: What Holds Policing Back, and the Keys to Reform. Brookings Institution Press, 2016.
• Sparrow, Malcolm K. The Character of Harms: Operational Challenges in Control. Cambridge University Press, 2008.

Book Chapters

Sparrow, Malcolm K. "Foreword." Financial Supervision in the 21st Century. Ed. A. Joanne Kellermann, Jakob de Haan, and Femke de Vries. Springer-Verlag, 2013, v-viii.

Research Papers/Reports

• Sparrow, Malcolm K., Coleman D. Bazelon, and Charles Jackson. "Can Internet Gambling Be Effectively Regulated? Managing the Risks." Report prepared for the Brattle Group, December 2009.
• Sparrow, Malcolm K., Ambassador Edward W. Stimpson, J. Randolph Babbitt, William O. McCabe, Hon. Carl W. Vogt. "Managing Risks in Civil Aviation: A Review of the FAA's Approach to Safety." Report of the Independent Review Team, Department of Transportation, September 2, 2008.

Public Testimony

Sparrow, Malcolm K. "Criminal Prosecution as a Deterrent to Health Care Fraud." Testimony to the Committee on the Judiciary: Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs, U.S. Senate, May 20, 2009.

Commentary

Sparrow, Malcolm K. "An E-Ripoff of the U.S." Los Angeles Times, August 21, 2011.

Magazine and Newspaper Articles

Sparrow, Malcolm K. "Moving Beyond Bratton." New York Times. August 8, 2016.