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jde-identification-strategy

Use when the causal identification strategy is the bottleneck for a Journal of Development Economics (JDE) manuscript — RCT/field experiment, DID, IV, RDD in low- and middle-income settings. Stress-tests the design against development-economics empirical norms before tables are drafted.

Journal-of-Development-Economics-Skills/skills/jde-identification-strategy/SKILL.md

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# Identification Strategy (jde-identification-strategy)

## When to trigger

- The empirical core is OLS + controls with an undefended causal claim
- A DID uses two-way fixed effects (TWFE) on staggered timing without modern estimators
- An IV's first stage is weak or the exclusion restriction is unargued
- An RCT lacks a pre-analysis plan, balance, or attrition analysis
- You are unsure your design clears the JDE causal bar

## The JDE identification bar

Development economics has been a leader in the **credibility revolution**, and JDE referees apply a demanding identification standard while respecting that field settings are messy. The implicit credibility ranking (strong → weaker):
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