From ectheory-skills
Frames econometric theory contributions for Econometric Theory (ET) journal submission, stating the main theorem and scope up front, choosing Article vs Miscellanea framing, and aligning with themed editorial directions.
How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/ectheory-skills:ectheory-contribution-framingThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
- The result is proved but the introduction buries what is actually new and general
ET readers reward a clearly stated, general result whose importance is obvious from the statement. Frame the contribution in this order:
For an Article, the frame should foreground multiple contributions and the proof program; for a Miscellanea, foreground the single sharp innovation, stated and proved concisely (~15 pages).
From January 2026, ET (Editors-in-Chief Guggenberger, Su, Sun) emphasizes invited papers with discussions and themed special issues — econometric theory for ML/AI, causal inference under complex interference, robust inference and partial identification, high-dimensional and non-standard environments, network/spatial econometrics. If your result speaks to one of these, frame the contribution so that fit is explicit. The biennial Peter C. B. Phillips Award (best paper by a scholar within 6 years of their first PhD) is a recognition program, not a submission track.
The desk screen asks whether the theorem itself is the contribution. Econometric Theory's identity is rigorous limit theory, so the introduction must read as a theorist's claim, not an empiricist's motivation.
| Framing signal | Reads as ET-grade | Desk-reject risk |
|---|---|---|
| Lead sentence | "We establish the limiting distribution of ... under ..." | "We study an important applied problem ..." |
| Object | A theorem with stated mode, rate, limiting law | An estimate, a dataset finding, a software release |
| Generality delta | Named special case collapsing to a known result | "Extends the literature", no assumption change |
| Role of simulation | Illustration that the asymptotics bite | The empirical application carries the paper |
Desk-reject patterns for theory framing: a relabelled corollary of a known limit theorem; a "new estimator" with no distribution theory (rate only); an abstract that never states what is proved.
Suppose the result is an FCLT for a long-run-variance estimator in a mildly explosive autoregression. The
ET introduction states the problem (standard estimators turn inconsistent once the root crosses unity), the
theorem in words (weak convergence to a Brownian functional under primitive conditions), the generality
delta (an earlier paper's i.i.d.-innovation case is the special case recovered), and the consequences (a
size-correct explosive-root test as a corollary). Referee pushback maps to fixes: "special case of [prior
FCLT]" → a labelled remark naming the weakened assumption and the corollary; "the contribution is the
application" → re-lead with the theorem (route ectheory-data-analysis); "overclaimed scope" → narrow to
what the assumptions deliver. Confirm exact length limits and themed-issue specifics against the journal's
current author guidelines.
【Problem】the econometric inference/limit problem addressed
【Theorem in words】+ scope (assumptions, environment, limit)
【Generality delta】new vs known special cases
【Consequences】what becomes provable/robust/computable
【Frame】Article (multi-contribution) / Miscellanea (one or two)
【Themed fit】direction (if any)
【Next step】ectheory-data-analysis
npx claudepluginhub brycewang-stanford/awesome-journal-skills --plugin ectheory-skillsSharpens a contribution for The Econometrics Journal into a compact leading-case claim with failure mode, advance, applied payoff, and scope guardrails.
Evaluates whether a research paper meets Econometrica's standards of generality and methodological contribution. Useful for assessing fit and sharpening the contribution statement.
Guides selection of Econometric Theory contribution type: assesses if a result is foundational theory vs applied estimate, and whether to target a full Article or short Miscellanea.