ecta-topic-selection
Use when judging whether a result is general, deep, and method-driven enough to belong in Econometrica, and when sharpening the contribution statement. Diagnoses fit and frames the contribution — it does not write proofs (use ecta-theory-model) or position against the literature (use ecta-literature-positioning).
Profile →npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill ecta-topic-selection --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.
# Topic Selection and Contribution Fit (ecta-topic-selection) ## When to trigger - You have a model, an estimator, or a theorem but are unsure it clears the Econometrica bar - The contribution reads like an application of a known method rather than a new method - The result "works only for this example" and you suspect it needs more generality - You cannot state the contribution in one sentence as a theorem or an estimator-plus-asymptotics ## What Econometrica rewards Econometrica (Econometric Society / Wiley; founded 1933) is the field's flagship for **econometric methods and rigorous economic theory**, not applied "top-5" causal-inference papers. Its charter is the *unification of the theoretical-quantitative and the empirical-quantitative approaches, penetrated by constructive and rigorous thinking*. It prizes **generality and elegance over narrow application**; the product is a durable methodological or theoretical advance. Before investing, classify the paper: | Paper type | What must be true to fit | Exemplar | |------------|--------------------------|----------| | Econometric theory | A new estimator / test / identification result with full asymptotic theory and finite-sampl
- When to trigger
- What Econometrica rewards
- The generality test
- Contribution statement template
- Checklist
- Anti-patterns
- Output format
What does the ecta-topic-selection skill do?
Use when judging whether a result is general, deep, and method-driven enough to belong in Econometrica, and when sharpening the contribution statement. Diagnoses fit and frames the contribution — it does not write proofs (use ecta-theory-model) or position against the literature (use ecta-literature-positioning).
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill ecta-topic-selection --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.