Bethan Thompson

Bethan Thompson is a Lecturer at Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), based in the Rural Economy Environment And Society Department within the Rural Development & Food Marketing Food Security Challenge Centre in Edinburgh. She holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics from the University of Edinburgh (2018), an MSc in Food Security (2014), and a BA in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from the University of Oxford (2004).

Her research focuses on agricultural production systems, food security, and the circular economy. Key interests include behavioral change drivers, quantitative modeling (econometrics, system dynamics), and policy evaluation. She specializes in developing theory-based surveys, choice experiments, and large-scale administrative data analysis. Her work emphasizes multi-stakeholder collaboration, having led workshops on complex agricultural topics.

Recent projects include RESAS-funded initiatives on farmer behavioral change for clean growth (2022–2027), circular economy upscaling, and policy support mechanisms for the food industry. Her research outputs (18+ since 2017) address topics like ecological farming adoption, technical efficiency in Scottish agriculture, and greenhouse gas emissions reduction strategies.

Bethan has extensive consulting experience in project management and international development. She collaborates with organizations like the Scottish Government and contributes to policy analysis through system dynamics modeling and statistical approaches.