Economics and Finance Writing

Style guide for economics journal articles, working papers, and finance analysis based on Deirdre McCloskey's Economical Writing.

When to Use

Invoke this skill for:

• Economics journal articles and working papers
• Finance analysis and market commentary
• Policy briefs and economic reports
• Editing economics/finance prose for clarity

For general writing: Use /writing skill (Strunk & White) For legal writing: Use /writing-legal skill (Volokh)

Enforcement

IRON LAW #1: NO BOILERPLATE WITHOUT DELETE & RESTART

If you write ANY of these, DELETE the draft and START OVER:

• "This paper discusses..."
• Table-of-contents paragraph
• "As we shall see"
• "It is interesting to note that..."
• "The rest of this paper is organized as follows..."

These signal you haven't found your hook. Start fresh with a compelling finding.

IRON LAW #2: NO ELEGANT VARIATION

One concept = One word. If you catch yourself varying terms ("industrialization" / "development" / "growth") for the same concept, you are confusing the reader. Pick ONE term and use it consistently.

Rationalization Table - STOP If You Think:

Excuse	Reality	Do Instead
"But journals use boilerplate"	Bad journals do	HOOK reader with finding
"Elegant variation shows vocabulary"	Shows you don't know what you mean	USE same word for same thing
"Readers need roadmap paragraph"	They skip it	DELETE table-of-contents para
"This terminology is standard in field"	Doesn't make it good	USE concrete Anglo-Saxon words
"Need to sound academic"	Sounds pompous instead	WRITE like human being
"Passive voice sounds objective"	Sounds evasive	USE active voice
"Technical writing must be formal"	Technical ≠ turgid	BE clear AND technical

Red Flags - STOP Immediately If You Think:

• "Let me write a standard introduction" → NO. Find your hook first.
• "I'll improve this later" → NO. Fix boilerplate NOW or restart.
• "This varies the language nicely" → NO. Consistency > variation.
• "Readers expect this phrase" → NO. Expectations can be wrong.

Delete & Restart Pattern

When to delete and restart:

1. Boilerplate detected in first paragraph → Delete entire intro, write finding-first
2. Three different terms for same concept → Delete section, pick ONE term
3. Table-of-contents paragraph exists → Delete it, no replacement needed
4. Metric conversions every time → Delete all but first, trust reader

How to restart:

Old: "This paper discusses the relationship between X and Y..."
New: "Trade liberalization increased wages by 15% for skilled workers."

Restart with THE FINDING, not with throat-clearing.

Core Principles

Speak to One Reader

Choose an implied reader and stick with her. A skeptical but sympathetic colleague. Keep the prose at one level of difficulty. If it embarrasses you to imagine how she would read it, the stuff is embarrassing.

Avoid Boilerplate

Anti-Pattern	Why It Fails
"This paper discusses..."	Bores the reader; use a hook instead
Table-of-contents paragraph	Readers skip it; they can't understand until they've read the paper
Background/padding	If you discovered it was beside the point, don't include it
"As we shall see"	Useless anticipation; the reader will see soon enough
Metric conversions every time	Shows you think the reader is an ignoramus

Never repeat without apologizing ("as I said earlier"). If apologizing too much, you're repeating too much.

Control Tone

• Avoid invective: "This is pure nonsense" arouses suspicion the argument is weak
• Delete every "very" and "absolutely" - most things aren't
• Use wit to compensate for strong opinions
• Relax the pose of The Scientist; write like a human being

One Point Per Paragraph

End each paragraph with a simple, street-talk encapsulation. The paragraph can be technical as long as the last sentence comes down a notch. It makes the paragraph sing.

Make Tables Self-Explanatory

The reader should understand the table without the main text. Use words in headings, not acronyms. "Logarithm of Domestic Price" not "LPDOM". Follow Tufte: no chart junk, have a point.

Use meaningful labels in equations: "Quantity of Grain = 3.56 + 5.6(Price of Grain)" not "Q = 3.56 + 5.6P where Q is..."

Make Writing Cohere

Repeat key words to link sentences. (AB)(BC)(CD) is easy to understand. The figure is called polyptoton. English achieves coherence by repetition, not by "not only...but also" which marks you as incompetent.

Word Choice

Avoid Elegant Variation

Use one word to mean one thing. A paper used: "industrialization," "growing structural differentiation," "economic and social development," "development," "economic growth," "growth," and "revolutionized means of production" to mean the same thing. Don't.

When uncertain, look back and use the same word.

Key Principles

Principle	Example
Be concrete	"sheep and wheat" not "natural resource-oriented exports"
Untie Teutonisms	"equalization of the prices of factors" not "factor price equalization"
Avoid ersatz economics	Never use "skyrocketing," "fair prices," "vicious cycle," "exploit"
Avoid this-ism	Replace this, these, those with the

See references/economical-writing-full.md for extended bad words list, Teutonism examples, and ersatz economics vocabulary.

Quick Reference

Problem	Solution
"This paper discusses X"	Hook the reader with the finding
Table-of-contents paragraph	Delete it; readers skip it anyway
"As we shall see"	Delete; anticipation is useless
Elegant variation	Use the same word for the same thing
Five-dollar words	Anglo-Saxon roots are more concrete
Noun pile-ups	Untie with "of"
This/that/these/those	Replace with "the"
"Not only...but also"	Just use "and"

Progressive Disclosure

For comprehensive guidance, consult:

Reference File

• references/economical-writing-full.md - Complete McCloskey guide covering:
  • 35 rules with full explanations and examples
  • Extended bad words list with usage notes
  • Historical and etymological context

When to Load Reference

Load the full reference when:

• Encountering specific vocabulary questions
• Needing detailed examples for economics jargon
• Working on substantial manuscript revision
• Teaching economics writing

Integration

After completing any economics writing task, invoke /ai-anti-patterns to check for AI writing indicators. The /writing skill covers general prose principles (active voice, omit needless words) that complement this skill.