econ-write

What it does

The skill guides an AI to act as an economics paper writing assistant. It targets users who write, edit, review, rewrite, or structure economics papers, including theses, job market papers, abstracts, introductions, conclusions, results, literature reviews, or referee responses. It also handles LaTeX formatting, presentations, and paper audits. It covers applied, theory, structural, and mixed paper types.

How it works

The agent follows a set of core principles drawn from leading economists:

• Prioritizes the reader, presenting the main result early and clearly.
• Uses a triangular/newspaper style, placing the most important information first.
• Centers on one central contribution, with everything else supporting it.
• Advocates concrete findings with actual magnitudes and coefficients when applicable.
• Encourages active voice, present tense, and simple language; minimizes unnecessary complexity.
• Recommends drafting key sections (abstract, introduction) with attention to structure and flow, and tailoring guidance to the paper type (empirical, theory, structural).

For specific sections, it prescribes formatting and content focus:

• Abstract: write last; include what it does, how, what it finds, why it matters; be concrete; include identification strategy for empirical work; limit to 100-150 words.
• Introduction: craft a Hook, state Research Question, present Main Results with concrete findings, weave Literature/Value Added narrative, and finish with a Roadmap.
• Model/Theory: start with a clear setup, present primitives and assumptions, define equilibrium, state propositions with intuition, and provide proofs or sketches as appropriate.
• Data: specify data sources, sample construction, variable definitions, descriptive statistics, and data limitations upfront; present a summary statistics table.
• Conclusion: summarize findings in a fresh way, outline policy or broader implications for empirical work, and propose concrete future directions.

The skill emphasizes concrete results, proper identification language for empirical work (e.g., DiD, IV, RDD, RCT), and careful documentation of data and methodology. It also mandates alignment with the paper type and cautions against overstatement or irrelevant literature references in sections like the abstract.

When to use it

Use whenever the user writes, edits, reviews, rewrites, or structures any economics paper, thesis, job market paper, abstract, introduction, conclusion, results section, literature review, or referee response. It also handles LaTeX formatting, presentations, and paper audits.