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restat-theory-model

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Use when deciding how much theory or structure a The Review of Economics and Statistics (REStat) manuscript should carry — right-sizing a model so it interprets or disciplines the empirical estimate without becoming the contribution. Calibrates the theory's role; it does not develop new theory for its own sake.

Review-of-Economics-and-Statistics-Skills/skills/restat-theory-model/SKILL.md

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# Theory & Model Right-Sizing (restat-theory-model)

## When to trigger

- A reduced-form result needs an economic interpretation a referee will ask for
- The draft has a sprawling model section that overshadows the empirical contribution
- You are unsure whether to estimate a structural model or stay reduced-form
- A referee asked "what is the mechanism?" or "what is the model behind this regression?"

## The REStat theory bar

REStat is **empirical-first**: theory is in service of the estimate, not the headline. The right amount of model is the amount that (1) **defines the estimand** — names the parameter the design recovers and why it is interesting; (2) **disciplines the interpretation** — maps the coefficient to an economic object (an elasticity, a welfare-relevant margin, a structural parameter); or (3) **delivers a counterfactual** the reduced form cannot. Anything more risks turning the paper into a theory or pure-structural paper that belongs elsewhere. A short, transparent model that yields a testable prediction or an interpretable parameter is worth more at REStat than an elaborate one that buries the empirics.

## Decision: how much theory?
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