Ilan is the Chair in the Economics of Disasters and Climate Change at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. His research and teaching focus on the economic aspects of natural hazards, disasters, and climate change, and other related topics in environmental, development, and international economics. He is also the founding Editor-in-Chief of 'Economics of Disasters and Climate Change', a journal published by SpringerNature. He previously worked at the University of Hawaii and has consulted for the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, UNDRR, the International Monetary Fund, and ASEAN.