thedixitjain JAE Manuscript Workflow (jape-workflow)
When to trigger
- Starting a paper aimed at the Journal of Applied Econometrics and wanting the whole path mapped
- Deciding which JAE-specific skill to invoke next
- Sanity-checking that a project fits JAE's empirical, replicable scope
Orient first
JAE (Wiley, since 1986, Editor-in-Chief Barbara Rossi, 7 issues/year) publishes applied econometrics — techniques applied to real data, not pure theory. Its signature is reproducibility: accepted papers must deposit a complete set of non-confidential data (and typically code) in the JAE Data Archive (running since 1994, now hosted at ZBW). Plan that deposit from day one; it is not an afterthought.
Lifecycle → owning skill
- Fit & framing — application on real data, not a theorem →
jape-topic-selection,jape-contribution-framing - Positioning — applied-econometrics precedent + JAE corpus →
jape-literature-positioning - Design — credible identification defended on real data →
jape-identification-strategy - Analysis — reproducible estimation, robust inference →
jape-data-analysis - Exhibits — within the 35-page limit; detail to the unlimited online appendix →
jape-tables-figures - Writing — 100-word citation-free summary, six keywords, COI statement →
jape-writing-style - Replication — plain ASCII/CSV + readme + programs →
jape-replication-and-data-policy - Submit — Free Format via Editorial Express; ≤ 3 papers per author under review →
jape-submission - Review — single-blind; Editor-in-Chief decides →
jape-review-process - Revise — rebuttal to single-blind referees →
jape-rebuttal
Anti-patterns
- Treating data deposit as a post-acceptance chore
- Sending a pure-theory paper to an applied journal
- Overflowing 35 pages instead of using the online appendix
Final-week gate
In the last week before submission, run the route in this order:
- Reconfirm scope with
jape-topic-selection: real-data application and replication path are still central. - Run
jape-data-analysis: master script regenerates every article and appendix exhibit. - Run
jape-tables-figures: article exhibits fit the 35-page limit and appendix material is staged. - Run
jape-replication-and-data-policy: archive files, README, versions, and plain-text outputs match. - Run
jape-writing-styleandjape-submission: summary, keywords, declarations, and Editorial Express materials are consistent.
Do not submit if the manuscript PDF and archive package disagree about a sample, variable, seed, or table label. That mismatch is a substantive credibility problem, not a clerical issue.
Stage gates with archive checkpoints
The archive deposit is the thread that runs through every stage; verify it at each gate rather than once at the end:
| Gate | Pass condition | Archive checkpoint |
|---|---|---|
| Project start | Real-data application with an econometric lesson | Data confirmed exportable to plain CSV/TXT, or documentable for access |
| First full draft | Estimand, design, inference all stated and tested | Master script regenerates every draft exhibit |
| Pre-submission | ≤35 pp text; summary ≤100 words, citation-free | Package cold-runs on a clean machine |
| Under review | — (wait; respect the 3-paper cap elsewhere) | Freeze the submitted package as a tagged version |
| Revision | Every referee point answered with evidence | Revised numbers and revised code committed together |
| Acceptance | Final exhibits match regenerated output digit-for-digit | Deposit to the ZBW-hosted archive with readme |
Failure modes by lifecycle stage
- Stage 1–2: committing to data that later proves undepositable and undescribable — the project dies at acceptance, the worst possible time.
- Stage 3–4: inference chosen by software default rather than data structure; a JAE referee pool of inference specialists will catch it.
- Stage 5–6: robustness crammed into the article instead of the unlimited appendix, blowing the 35-page limit.
- Stage 8–10: manuscript revised but package not — the mismatch surfaces when the archive deposit is checked against the published paper.
Worked routing decision (illustrative)
An author arrives with a finished panel-IV draft asking "what now?" Route: the draft is 39 pages → jape-tables-figures first (move two robustness grids to the appendix); the IV tables show no first-stage F → jape-data-analysis and jape-identification-strategy (effective F + Anderson–Rubin columns); data are a licensed commercial panel → jape-replication-and-data-policy (confidential-data readme + extraction code now, not after acceptance); only then jape-writing-style for the 100-word summary and jape-submission for Editorial Express. Three of the five stops exist only because the destination is JAE.
Output format
【Fit】applied on real data, replicable? [Y/N]
【Stage】lifecycle step (1–10)
【Gate】current stage's archive checkpoint passed? [Y/N]
【Next skill】which JAE skill now
【Archive】data/code on track for the Data Archive? [Y/N]
Supplementary resources
../../resources/official-source-map.md— official JAE URLs behind every fact../../resources/external_tools.md— reproducibility tooling
Source: brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills → Journal-of-Applied-Econometrics-Skills/skills/jape-workflow/SKILL.md