Thomas Rutherford

Thomas Rutherford is a Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, based at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery (WID) in Madison, WI.

His educational background includes:

• BS in Engineering and Applied Science from Yale University
• PhD in Operations Research from Stanford University

Rutherford's research centers on optimization of economic decisions using advanced computational methods. He is a leading expert in computable general equilibrium (CGE) modeling, applying it to critical issues in environmental economics and climate policy. His work examines carbon pricing mechanisms, border carbon adjustments, and the economic impacts of trade agreements on environmental outcomes. He also investigates deep integration in trade agreements and designs climate policies balancing competitiveness, equity, and efficiency.

Analysis of his 2021-2025 publications reveals dominant themes in border carbon adjustments, climate policy design for Germany/Canada, and carbon pricing implications for trade. His research spans environmental economics, energy economics, agricultural trade, and international policy, with methodological innovations in Logit cost functions and subnational CGE modeling tools.

Based at the interdisciplinary Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, Rutherford bridges engineering, economics, and policy analysis to address global sustainability challenges.