jpe-theory-model
Use when a Journal of Political Economy (JPE) manuscript needs an explicit economic model or mechanism — either a theory paper's model, or the framework that gives a reduced-form empirical result its economic meaning. Builds and disciplines the economic argument; it does not run estimation (see jpe-identification).
Profile →npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill jpe-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 & Mechanism Model (jpe-theory-model) ## When to trigger - A reduced-form result has no model or stated mechanism behind it ("what is the economics?") - A structural/theory paper's model exists but its assumptions or comparative statics are not disciplined - The empirical specification is not derived from, or connected to, any economic framework - A referee will ask which economic force drives the result and you cannot point to one ## Why this is the JPE hallmark JPE's identity is tight theoretical framing — the Chicago price-theory tradition that produced Becker's "Crime and Punishment: An Economic Approach" (JPE 1968) and the Black–Scholes option-pricing model (JPE 1973). Even empirical papers are read as tests of economic reasoning: **"What does theory predict, and does the evidence bear it out?"** The model need not be elaborate; a one- or two-equation framework that delivers a sharp, testable comparative static is often stronger than a baroque one. Internal consistency of the economic argument is scrutinized harder here than almost anywhere. If the contribution is a deep, self-contained macro model, weigh **JPE Macroeconomics** (companion journal, lead editor Greg Kapl
- When to trigger
- Why this is the JPE hallmark
- Building / disciplining the model
- Minimal-model discipline (for empirics-led papers)
- Full-model rigor (for theory-led / structural papers)
- Consistency checks a Chicago referee runs
- Checklist
- Anti-patterns
- Output format
What does the jpe-theory-model skill do?
Use when a Journal of Political Economy (JPE) manuscript needs an explicit economic model or mechanism — either a theory paper's model, or the framework that gives a reduced-form empirical result its economic meaning. Builds and disciplines the economic argument; it does not run estimation (see jpe-identification).
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills --skill jpe-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.