restat-tables-figures

Tables & Figures (restat-tables-figures)

When to trigger

• The main result is buried across several dense tables instead of one clear exhibit
• Tables lack self-contained notes (a reader must hunt the text for the spec)
• Figures are decorative rather than load-bearing, or omit uncertainty
• You are preparing exhibits for the online appendix vs the main paper

The REStat exhibit bar

A REStat reader should grasp the headline estimate from one main exhibit — a table or, increasingly, an event-study / RD / coefficient-stability figure with a confidence band. REStat follows standard economics house style: significance stars are permitted, but standard errors are expected in parentheses and the exhibit must stand on its own. Every table and figure carries a self-contained note stating the sample, the specification, the unit of observation, the inference (clustering level), and what the reader should take away. The main paper is self-contained; supporting detail goes to the online appendix (≤20 pages; source map refreshed 2026-06-20).

Exhibit design rules

Element	REStat-compliant practice
Headline result	One main table or one figure a reader can read in 30 seconds
Standard errors	In parentheses below coefficients; clustering stated in the note
Significance	Stars allowed, but never instead of SEs; report the SE always
Notes	Self-contained: sample, spec, unit, N, inference, source
Figures	Load-bearing (event study with leads, RD plot, coefficient stability) with CIs/bands
Decimals	Consistent, sensible precision; no spurious digits
Appendix	Robustness and construction detail → online appendix (≤20 pp); main paper self-contained
Reproducibility	Every number traces to a script in the Harvard Dataverse package (restat-replication-package)

Which exhibit for which design

• DID / event study: an event-study plot with leads and lags and a confidence band is often the single most persuasive exhibit — flat pre-trends visible at a glance.
• RD: a binned scatter with the fitted polynomials and the discontinuity, plus the estimate table with bandwidth/robust CIs.
• IV / shift-share: a first-stage table or figure alongside the structural estimate; do not hide a weak first stage.
• Measurement papers: a validation figure (new measure vs benchmark) earns its place as a main exhibit.

Checklist

• The headline estimate is legible from ONE main exhibit
• Standard errors in parentheses; clustering level stated in the note
• Stars (if used) accompany, never replace, standard errors
• Every table/figure note is self-contained (sample, spec, unit, N, inference, source)
• Figures are load-bearing and carry uncertainty (CIs / bands)
• Main paper self-contained; supporting exhibits moved to online appendix (≤20 pp)
• Every reported number is reproducible from the deposited code

Anti-patterns

• A wall of coefficients with no single readable headline exhibit
• Stars with no standard errors (REStat expects the SE shown)
• Table notes that force the reader back into the text to learn the specification
• Decorative figures without confidence bands or a clear takeaway
• Overstuffed main paper that should have pushed detail to the online appendix
• Exhibit numbers that do not match what the deposited script regenerates

Worked vignette: one figure carrying the paper (illustrative)

A staggered-DID paper had its main result spread over three tables: a TWFE column, a Callaway–Sant'Anna column, and a robustness table. A REStat editor wanted to see the identification at a glance. The fix collapsed the headline into a single event-study figure — event-time on the x-axis, the estimated effect with a 95% confidence band on the y-axis, leads visibly flat and centered on zero, lags showing the dynamic effect. The accompanying table kept only the pooled post estimate with its SE and clustering note. A reader now sees parallel-trends support and the effect in one exhibit; the three old tables moved to the online appendix. Self-contained note states sample, estimator, unit, N, and clustering — nothing to hunt for in the text.

Output format

【Headline exhibit】Table/Figure [n]: [what it shows in one line]
【SE + inference】SEs in parentheses; clustering at [level]; stars: [used/not]
【Figure load-bearing?】[event-study / RD plot / validation / coef-stability] with CIs? [Y/N]
【Notes self-contained?】sample/spec/unit/N/inference/source present? [Y/N]
【Main vs appendix】main exhibits: [...]; online appendix (≤20pp): [...]
【Reproducible?】each number ← script in Dataverse package? [Y/N]
【Next step】restat-writing-style