ecta-workflow
GitHubEconometrica论文工作流路由技能，用于根据当前阶段（选题、定位、识别、理论、稳健性、图表、写作或反驳）决定调用哪个子技能。不替代专业技能，仅负责指引下一步操作。
Trigger Scenarios
Install
npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill ecta-workflow -g -y
SKILL.md
Frontmatter
{
"name": "ecta-workflow",
"description": "Use when deciding which ecta-* sub-skill to invoke next, or when sequencing manuscript work from topic selection through rebuttal for an Econometrica manuscript. Routes — does not replace — the specialized skills."
}
Econometrica Workflow (ecta-workflow)
Overview
This is the router. It does not replace any specialized skill — it tells you which ecta- skill to invoke at the current stage*.
Default assumption: unless the user says otherwise, the target is Econometrica, the journal of the Econometric Society (published by Wiley; founded 1933) — the flagship for econometric methods and rigorous economic theory (microeconomic, game, and decision theory, plus mathematical economics). Its charter is the unification of the theoretical-quantitative and empirical-quantitative approaches, penetrated by constructive and rigorous thinking. The bar is mathematical rigor: a new method or theorem with a complete, correct proof, generality, and a clear economic or inferential payoff.
This is the key re-slant from a sibling like AER / QJE / JPE / REStud: Econometrica's core product is the theorem or the estimator, not a clean causal estimate of a policy effect. A flawless applied difference-in-differences or RDD paper with an off-the-shelf method is off-fit here even if it would headline a general-interest top-5 journal. Lineage that fits: Heckman (1979, selection), Hansen (1982, GMM), Newey–West (1987, HAC), Rust (1987, NFXP), Kahneman–Tversky (1979, prospect theory) — all Econometrica.
Econometrica papers come in two broad shapes; route accordingly:
- Theory / methods (econometric theory, micro / game / decision theory): the contribution is a theorem, an estimator with its asymptotics, or an axiomatic result.
- Structural / empirical: a method applied with care, or a structural model whose identification and estimation are the contribution. These still need the methodological spine and a replication package.
When to trigger
- "What should I do next?" on an Econometrica-bound paper
- A draft arrives and you must diagnose the binding constraint
- You are oscillating between proofs, simulations, and writing and have lost the thread
- A decision letter / referee reports arrive and you need to switch to rebuttal mode
Routing table
| Current symptom | Next skill |
|---|---|
| Idea is vague; unsure the contribution is general / deep enough for Econometrica | ecta-topic-selection |
| Unsure how the result sits against the methods / theory literature it extends | ecta-literature-positioning |
| Estimator lacks identification conditions / asymptotic distribution; or axioms not pinned down | ecta-identification |
| Central theorem stated loosely; proof incomplete, hand-wavy, or missing regularity conditions | ecta-theory-model |
| Asymptotics with no finite-sample check; no Monte Carlo / edge-case analysis | ecta-robustness |
| Simulation tables / empirical exhibits unclear, overloaded, or non-self-contained | ecta-tables-figures |
| Prose is verbose, informal, or buries assumptions; not in terse formal house style | ecta-writing-style |
| Need to assemble code / data under the ES Data and Code Availability Policy (Data Editor + Zenodo) | ecta-replication-package |
| Want to anticipate what the handling co-editor and referees will attack | ecta-referee-strategy |
| Ready to submit; need Editorial Express preflight, 45-page check, + Supplemental Material assembly | ecta-submission |
| Received a revise-and-resubmit or conditional acceptance; need a response letter | ecta-rebuttal |
Default order
ecta-topic-selection— fix the contribution: a general theorem or a method with real payoffecta-literature-positioning— locate the result precisely in the methods / theory lineageecta-identification— identification conditions + asymptotics (or axioms + existence/uniqueness)ecta-theory-model— state the central theorem(s); build the proof strategy; check generalityecta-robustness— Monte Carlo, finite-sample performance, regularity / edge casesecta-tables-figures— finalize simulation tables and any empirical exhibitsecta-writing-style— terse formal polish; assumptions visible; theorem-numberedecta-replication-package— code (+ data) under the ES Data and Code Availability Policy (Data Editor reproducibility check at conditional acceptance; Zenodo deposit)ecta-referee-strategy— red-team the proofs and the generality claimecta-submission— Editorial Express preflight, 45-page limit, Supplemental Material assemblyecta-rebuttal— after the R&R / conditional-acceptance letter
ecta-writing-styleis a late polish stage — do not polish prose while the central theorem or its proof is still unstable. Likewise, do not build tables before the identification / asymptotics are settled.
Submission-package tree
Keep the working directory shaped like the final Editorial Express upload from day one — the Zenodo deposit and Data Editor check arrive at conditional acceptance, when it is too late to reconstruct a replication folder from scratch:
econometrica-submission/
├── main.pdf # ≤45 pages incl. references and appendices
├── supplement.pdf # Supplemental Appendix, ≤25 pages
├── cover-letter.pdf # ES membership stated; fee tier noted
├── replication/ # ES Data and Code Availability Policy
│ ├── README.md # exact commands regenerating every exhibit
│ ├── code/ # Monte Carlo + estimation scripts
│ └── data/ # raw data, or access instructions if proprietary
└── working-notes/ # not uploaded — internal gates
├── theorem-ledger.md # per theorem: statement / proof / regularity conditions
└── referee-redteam.md # output of ecta-referee-strategy
A purely theoretical paper drops data/ but keeps code/ if any result is verified
numerically; an estimator paper's "data" may be entirely its simulation code.
Decision mnemonics
- "I have a result but I'm not sure it's general enough" →
ecta-topic-selection - "A referee will ask how this differs from [classic estimator/theorem]" →
ecta-literature-positioning - "My estimator is consistent but I never derived its limiting distribution" →
ecta-identification - "My proof says 'it is easy to see that'" →
ecta-theory-model - "I report asymptotics but never simulated finite samples" →
ecta-robustness - "My size/power table has eight columns and no notes" →
ecta-tables-figures - "My intro is three pages of motivation before any result" →
ecta-writing-style - "I can't regenerate Table 2 from a clean checkout" →
ecta-replication-package - "Where will the referee find the hole?" →
ecta-referee-strategy - "Submitting tomorrow" →
ecta-submission - "Three reports back, all asking for more generality" →
ecta-rebuttal
Differences vs. applied-economics packs (AER / QJE / JPE / REStud)
If the contribution is an application — a causal estimate of a policy effect, with the method off-the-shelf — an applied general-interest pack (e.g., AER / QJE / JPE / REStud skills) is the better fit. The core difference:
- Econometrica: the contribution is the method or theorem — generality, complete proofs, asymptotics, and finite-sample evidence are the product. A purely theoretical paper carries no replication package; an estimator paper's "data" may be entirely its Monte Carlo code.
- General-interest applied: the contribution is the answer to an economic question — identification of a specific effect carries the paper, and a clean empirical narrative matters more than a new limit theorem.
Concrete Econometrica-specific facts that are wrong for those siblings: at least one author must be a member of the Econometric Society to submit; the 45-page limit (incl. references and appendices) plus a ≤25-page Supplemental Appendix; submission via Editorial Express with an ES-member submission fee (US$125 regular / US$50 student from 2025); and replication is governed by the Econometric Society Data and Code Availability Policy with Data Editor checks and a Zenodo deposit — not the AEA Data Editor / openICPSR pipeline the AER/AEJ packs assume.
Anti-patterns
- Do not skip
ecta-identification/ecta-theory-modeland jump to simulations — referees read the proofs first. - Do not let
ecta-tables-figurespolish exhibits before the asymptotics are settled. - Do not let
ecta-writing-stylesmooth prose over a proof gap — fix the math first. - Do not let
ecta-rebuttaldraft a response before the revised theorems and code are done.
Version History
- 1839142 Current 2026-07-05 12:52
