Dr. Yilan Xu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research examines how risks, information, and adaptive behaviors spread through interconnected social and spatial networks, and how these dynamics shape resilience, equity, and policy effectiveness in response to climate, health, and economic shocks. Using methods from economics, network science, and data analytics, she develops quantitative frameworks to understand how localized disruptions become systemic challenges and how interventions can be designed to improve resilience while reducing disparities. Her work has been published in leading journals, including the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Journal of Economic Geography, Regional Science and Urban Economics, and Economic Inquiry. She served as President of the American Council on Consumer Interests (ACCI) from 2023 to 2024 and earned her Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Pittsburgh and her B.A. in Economics with honors from Zhejiang University.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, 2019 – present
Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, 2012 – 2018
Fellow, Center for Advanced Study, 2017 – 2018
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), MA, USA
Research Economist, 2014 – 2016
University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Part-time Instructor, Department of Economics, 2011 – 2012
Teaching Assistant, Department of Economics, 2007 – 2011
Zhejiang University, China
Undergraduate Teaching Assistant, College of Economics, 2006
EDUCATION
Ph.D. in Economics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 2012
B.A. in Economics with honors, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, 2006
Selected Member of Chu Kochen Honors College