aer-tables-figures

# AER Tables and Figures ## Overview Reviewers in economics read tables first. A misformatted, overstuffed, or note-bloated table signals carelessness and increases desk rejection probability independently of the result quality. This skill enforces AER house style and the "one claim per exhibit" discipline. Hard AER conventions: - **Captions go below figures, above tables.** - **Tables use booktabs-style horizontal rules** (no vertical rules). - **Figure notes use the `tablenotes` / `figurenotes` environment.** - **No color-only encoding** — figures must remain legible in grayscale and to color-blind readers. ## When to Use - Drafting the main results table - Auditing tables before submission - An R&R demands consolidation or restructuring of tables - Figures look noisy, dense, or "Excel-default" ## The Five Canonical Tables Every empirical AER paper has approximately: 1. **Summary statistics** — N, mean, SD, min, max for the analysis sample. One table; ≤ 15 rows. Group by treatment/control if relevant. 2. **Variable definitions** — source, construction, units. Push to appendix if main paper is tight on space. 3. **Balance / first stage** — covariate balance (RCT, RD, matched DiD) or first-stage coefficients (IV). 4. **Main result** — 3-7 columns, each a progressively richer specification. The column the referee will quote is column (4) or (5). 5. **Robustness / heterogeneity** — one table consolidating the most important checks. If your paper needs more than ~7 mai...