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ecj-identification
Use when the empirical identification strategy is the bottleneck for a The Economic Journal (EJ) manuscript — quasi-experimental designs (DID, IV, RDD, event study) or structural estimation. Stress-tests the design and its economic interpretation before drafting tables; it does not write the model from scratch (see ecj-theory-model).
The-Economic-Journal-Skills/skills/ecj-identification/SKILL.md
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# Identification & Economic Interpretation (ecj-identification)
## When to trigger
- The empirical core is OLS + controls with no defended causal claim
- Staggered DID estimated with TWFE without addressing heterogeneity-bias critiques
- IV with a weak first stage or a thin exclusion argument
- Structural estimation where the source of parameter identification is not spelled out
- A clean causal effect exists but its *economic* interpretation, and its general relevance, are not pinned down
## The EJ bar: credible identification AND broad economic meaning
EJ accepts both reduced-form and structural work across all fields, but the bar has two parts that must *both* clear:
