aejpol-theory-model
Use when an AEJ: Economic Policy manuscript needs a framework that maps reduced-form estimates into a welfare, cost-benefit, or distributional policy object — sufficient statistics, MVPF, optimal-policy, or a small applied model. Builds the estimate-to-welfare bridge and states its assumptions; it does not run the empirical estimation or write the prose.
Profile →npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill aejpol-theory-model --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# Theory / Welfare Model — Estimate-to-Policy Bridge (aejpol-theory-model) ## When to trigger - You have a credible causal estimate but no framework to say what it means for welfare or policy - A referee says the welfare claim is "hand-waved" or the "so what" is missing - You need to convert an elasticity / treatment effect into a cost-benefit or optimal-policy statement - A reviewer asks "what is the sufficient statistic, and does your estimate identify it?" ## The AEJ: Policy role of theory At AEJ: Policy theory is usually **in service of the policy reading**, not the headline. Most papers do not need a full structural model; they need a transparent framework that turns a reduced-form estimate into a **welfare, cost-benefit, or distributional** object a policymaker can use. Pick the lightest framework that delivers the policy statement and make its assumptions explicit. ### Bridge paths (lightest first) #### Path A: Sufficient statistics / MVPF - Write the welfare expression and show **which estimated objects are the sufficient statistics** (e.g., an elasticity, a fiscal externality, a pass-through). State that your design identifies exactly those. - For spending/tax policies, a
- When to trigger
- The AEJ: Policy role of theory
- Bridge paths (lightest first)
- Distributional reading
- Checklist
- Anti-patterns
- Worked vignette (illustrative)
- Output format
What does the aejpol-theory-model skill do?
Use when an AEJ: Economic Policy manuscript needs a framework that maps reduced-form estimates into a welfare, cost-benefit, or distributional policy object — sufficient statistics, MVPF, optimal-policy, or a small applied model. Builds the estimate-to-welfare bridge and states its assumptions; it does not run the empirical estimation or write the prose.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill aejpol-theory-model --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills, a repository with 909 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.