# Revacc Theory Development > Use when the economic mechanism, analytical model, or testable predictions are the bottleneck for a Review of Accounting Studies (RAST) manuscript — articulating the friction behind an accounting effect or building a parsimonious disclosure/contracting model with proven propositions. Builds the argument; it does not design identification (revacc-methods) or run estimation (revacc-data-analysis). - Skill: `thedixitjain/revacc-theory-development` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds add thedixitjain/revacc-theory-development` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/thedixitjain/revacc-theory-development/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: AI & ML - Author: thedixitjain (https://skillmd.com/u/thedixitjain) - Updated: 2026-09-08 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/thedixitjain/revacc-theory-development --- # Theory & Model Development (revacc-theory-development) ## When to trigger - Predictions read as bald associations ("disclosure X relates to outcome Y") with no friction - You have archival results and are tempted to write predictions around them (HARKing risk) - An analytical paper needs a clean information structure, equilibrium, and comparative statics - A claimed channel (information asymmetry, agency, real effects) is asserted but not modeled - A referee says "what is the friction?", "the model is not minimal", or "the comparative static has no accounting reading" ## RAST is a genuine home for analytical accounting Unlike outlets where modeling is marginal, RAST runs a real **analytical lane** alongside archival and experimental work. That raises two distinct bars depending on the lane, and the most common failure is mixing them up. - **Analytical / modeling.** State primitives — players, **information structure** (who knows what, when), payoffs — then solve for equilibrium and present **propositions with proofs** and **comparative statics**. The RAST-specific demand: the model must be the **minimal structure** that delivers an *accounting* implication (optimal disclosure granularity, the demand for conservatism, signaling through reporting choices, audit-effort incentives, performance-measure design, the real effects of mandatory reporting). An elegant equilibrium with no accounting payoff is a math paper RAST will reject. - **Empirical archival.** Derive directional predictions from accounting and information economics *before* estimation. Name the friction the accounting acts on and the channel verb (reduces information asymmetry, tightens monitoring, relaxes a covenant, disciplines investment, deters tax aggressiveness). - **Experimental / behavioral.** Ground hypotheses in psychology plus accounting theory (judgment, motivated reasoning, professional skepticism, investor processing) where archival data cannot isolate the mechanism; the experiment manipulates the construct to establish the channel directly. ## The mechanism chain (archival/experimental) 1. **Setting & construct** — the accounting object (disclosure, accrual, audit, tax position) and the institutional setting that makes it bite. 2. **Friction** — the information or agency friction (asymmetric information, adverse selection, moral hazard, contracting/monitoring force, attention constraint). 3. **Channel** — the economic process linking construct to outcome (pricing, contracting, real investment, litigation, reputation, enforcement). 4. **Direction & form** — sign; monotone, non-monotone, or conditional. 5. **Cross-section / boundary** — where the effect strengthens or reverses, and *why* economically. ## Building the analytical model (RAST-style) - Make the **information structure explicit** and defend each assumption as load-bearing — referees probe whether a simpler model gives the same result. - **Prove** propositions; never assert equilibrium properties. Put proofs in an appendix, intuition in the text. - Translate comparative statics into **empirical predictions or policy implications** an accounting reader cares about; pair the model with a stylized empirical illustration where feasible — RAST values theory that speaks to data. - Name the closest existing disclosure/agency model and state the **marginal modeling move** (a new friction, a relaxed assumption, an added stage). ## Checklist - [ ] Every prediction rests on a named friction and channel, not a mechanical correlation - [ ] Archival predictions were fixed before estimation (no HARKing) - [ ] Analytical claims are stated as **proven propositions** with comparative statics - [ ] The model is defended as the minimal structure for the result - [ ] Each comparative static has an explicit **accounting** reading (not just an economics one) - [ ] At least one rival explanation is named and will be tested or modeled out - [ ] The marginal move over the nearest prior model/theory is stated ## Anti-patterns - **HARKing:** writing predictions to match regression output after the fact. - **Model without payoff:** a clean equilibrium whose comparative statics carry no accounting implication. - **Non-minimal model:** assumptions a referee can strip without changing the result. - **Borrowed friction:** invoking "information asymmetry" with no account of how it operates here. - **Mechanical prediction:** a sign that follows from accounting identities rather than economics. - **Channel by proxy:** asserting a real-effects channel the design cannot separate from pricing. ## Output format ```text 【Lane】archival / analytical / experimental 【Friction】information asymmetry / agency / contracting / attention ... 【Analytical only】primitives + information structure stated? propositions proven? minimal? yes/no 【Prediction P1 (focal)】construct → channel → outcome; direction/form 【Prediction P2 (channel/mediation)】... 【P3+ (cross-section/boundary)】... economic reason 【Accounting payoff】the implication a reporting reader cares about 【Rival explanation】named + how it will be ruled out 【Next skill】revacc-literature-positioning, then revacc-methods ``` --- **Source:** [`brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills`](https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills) → `Review-of-Accounting-Studies-Skills/skills/revacc-theory-development/SKILL.md`