From qje-skills
Pressure-tests research questions for QJE submission fit by evaluating the 'big idea' bar, question breadth, and generality of the takeaway.
How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/qje-skills:qje-topic-selectionThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
- You have data or a result but the "so what?" is unclear
QJE is a general-interest journal covering all of economics, published by OUP and edited at Harvard since 1886 (the oldest English-language economics journal). Its comparative advantage is the compelling question + credible empirics + a conceptual takeaway with broad implications — the journal that ran Akerlof's "Market for 'Lemons'" (QJE 1970) and Mankiw, Romer & Weil's "Contribution to the Empirics of Economic Growth" (QJE 1992) rewards papers that change how a wide audience thinks, not just precise estimates. Editorial reality reinforces this: five Harvard-based Editors desk-screen in ~2 weeks, so the big idea must be visible immediately. Force the idea through three filters:
| Your paper is... | QJE fit | Better home if not |
|---|---|---|
| Big empirical-micro question + clean natural experiment | Strong | — |
| Novel large-scale data answering an old question | Strong | — |
| New econometric estimator / asymptotic theory | Weak | Econometrica, JoE |
| Structural IO / quantitative-macro led by a calibrated model | Possible | JPE, Econometrica, AEJ:Macro |
| Field-specific incremental estimate | Weak | Top field journal (JOLE, JPubE) |
| Pure theory with no empirical or policy payoff | Weak | TE, JET, RAND |
| Descriptive paper with genuinely new facts/data | Possible | Needs exceptional, first-order novelty |
QJE-vs-siblings taste note: relative to JPE (more sympathetic to a strong calibrated/structural model carrying the paper) and Econometrica (method and theory), QJE leans toward reduced-form, idea-driven empirical work with a memorable lesson. A pure-method paper that AER or JPE might consider for a methods slot is a weak QJE fit.
【Question】one sentence a non-specialist would care about
【Surprising answer】...
【Source of variation】...
【Broad lesson】Beyond this setting, ...
【Debate moved】prior belief → our result
【QJE fit verdict】strong / possible / weak (+ better home if weak)
【Next step】qje-literature-positioning
npx claudepluginhub brycewang-stanford/awesome-journal-skills --plugin qje-skillsDetermines fit for Quarterly Journal of Economics (QJE) — helps evaluate whether an economics manuscript matches QJE's bar for importance, clean evidence, and general-interest framing.
Scores a research question against JPE fit criteria: mechanism, theory linkage, generality, incentives/equilibrium, and importance. Helps route between JPE proper and its companion journals.
Diagnoses whether a research question is 'EJ-shaped' for The Economic Journal: tests broad interest, substantial contribution, mechanism, craft, and exposition fit. Helps decide between full-length and short-paper route.