# Aer Workflow > Use when deciding which AER-skills sub-skill to use next, before choosing a specialized skill or after a user asks how to sequence manuscript work from topic selection through rebuttal for AER, AER:Insights, or AEJ journals. Routes — does not replace — the specialized skills. - **Type:** Skill - **Install:** `agentstack add skill-brycewang-stanford-aer-skills-aer-workflow` - **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior - **Seller:** [brycewang-stanford](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/brycewang-stanford) - **Installs:** 0 - **Category:** [AI & ML](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/ai-and-ml) - **Latest version:** 0.1.0 - **License:** MIT - **Upstream author:** [brycewang-stanford](https://github.com/brycewang-stanford) - **Source:** https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/AER-Skills/tree/main/skills/aer-workflow ## Install ```sh agentstack add skill-brycewang-stanford-aer-skills-aer-workflow ``` Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent. ## About # AER Workflow ## Overview This is the router. It does not replace any specialized skill. It tells you which one to use next, and in what order. Default assumption: unless the user names a different venue, the manuscript targets **AER**, **AER: Insights**, or an **AEJ** journal — not a finance journal, not a generic economics field journal, and not a working-paper repository. ## When to Use - The user asks "what should I work on next?" - The user dumps a draft and you must decide where the bottleneck is - The user asks for a full paper to be drafted end-to-end and you need the gate sequence - The user is rotating between writing, empirics, and revision and loses track of which stage they are in - A new reviewer report has arrived and the work mode must switch from drafting to rebuttal ## Routing Map Use: - `aer-topic-selection` when the project is new, when the user is undecided between AER / Insights / an AEJ, or when the contribution sentence cannot be written in one line - `aer-literature` when the closest papers must be mapped (novelty scan, antecedents paragraph) or when any citation needs verifying — for AI-drafted manuscripts, every citation - `aer-identification` when the empirical design is the bottleneck — DiD, IV, RDD, SCM, shift-share, event study, RCT analysis - `aer-robustness` when the main results exist but referee-anticipating checks (placebo, heterogeneity, mechanism, alternative samples) are missing or weak - `aer-paper-body` when drafting or repairing the body sections — background, data, empirical strategy, results narration, magnitude interpretation, mechanisms, conclusion - `aer-introduction` when drafting or rewriting the introduction, or when the abstract is over 100 words - `aer-tables-figures` when regression tables are inconsistent, oversized, footnote-bloated, or do not match AER house style - `aer-consistency` when the assembled manuscript needs the integrity audit — numbers vs. tables, sample sizes, conversions, cross-references, citation two-way match - `aer-referee-sim` when a complete draft needs the adversarial desk screen and three simulated referee reports before submission - `aer-replication` when preparing the AEA Data and Code Availability deposit, writing the README, or auditing reproducibility before acceptance - `aer-submission` when running the final preflight before clicking submit — length, format, cover letter, conflicts - `aer-rebuttal` when reviewer comments exist and a point-by-point response letter plus aligned manuscript edits are needed - `aer-statspai` (optional engine) when the design is already fixed and the user wants to *run* the empirics from the agent — a unified Python API / MCP server covering DiD, IV, RDD, SCM, robustness, and table export. It executes what `aer-identification` chose; it does not replace that choice. ## Default Sequence For most empirical AER-track manuscripts, prefer this order: 1. `aer-topic-selection` — fix the contribution sentence and the target venue *before* anything else 2. `aer-literature` — map the 3-6 closest papers; kill the project now if it is scooped 3. `aer-identification` — stress-test the design; if it fails here, no later skill saves the paper 4. `aer-robustness` — anticipate the three robustness checks the median referee will demand (run the empirics via `templates/` or `aer-statspai`) 5. `aer-paper-body` — draft background, data, strategy, results, mechanisms, conclusion 6. `aer-introduction` — only now write the five-paragraph intro and the 100-word abstract, summarizing a body that exists 7. `aer-tables-figures` — finalize the main exhibits in AER house style 8. `aer-consistency` — the integrity audit; every number, reference, and citation must reconcile 9. `aer-referee-sim` — adversarial internal review; loop back to the routed fix skill until the verdict is at least major R&R on a fresh run 10. `aer-replication` — assemble the deposit package while results are still fresh in code 11. `aer-submission` — final preflight: length, format, cover letter, COI 12. `aer-rebuttal` — after external review, revise manuscript first, then write the letter against the revised version ## Quality Gates for End-to-End Drafting When the user asks the agent to **write the paper**, the sequence above is a set of gates, not suggestions. Do not advance past a gate that fails: - Gate A (after step 3): contribution sentence written, venue chosen, design survives `aer-identification` red flags - Gate B (after step 5): every claim in the draft body traces to an exhibit or a verified citation - Gate C (after step 8): `aer-consistency` reports all-pass; `aer-literature` citation ledger fully closed - Gate D (after step 9): `aer-referee-sim` verdict ≥ major R&R on two consecutive fresh runs - Gate E (after step 11): `aer-submission` preflight all green ## Decision Cues If the user says... - *"I have an idea but I don't know if it's AER-worthy"* → `aer-topic-selection` - *"Has someone already done this?"* / *"Are these references real?"* → `aer-literature` - *"My DiD has staggered treatment"* → `aer-identification` - *"My first stage F is 8"* → `aer-identification` (weak-IV branch) - *"The referee said the result might be driven by X"* → `aer-robustness` - *"My results section just walks through the tables"* → `aer-paper-body` - *"What does a 0.042 coefficient on log wages mean?"* → `aer-paper-body` (magnitude rules) - *"My intro is 4 pages and the editor hated it"* → `aer-introduction` - *"My table 3 has 14 columns"* → `aer-tables-figures` - *"Do the numbers in my abstract match my tables?"* → `aer-consistency` - *"Tear this draft apart before I submit"* → `aer-referee-sim` - *"The Data Editor flagged my README"* → `aer-replication` - *"I'm submitting tomorrow"* → `aer-submission` - *"I got an R&R with three reports"* → `aer-rebuttal` - *"Just run my staggered DiD / IV / RDD for me"* → `aer-statspai` (after the design is settled in `aer-identification`) ## Common Mistakes - polishing the introduction before the identification strategy is stable - drafting the body before the empirics exist, then bending results prose to fit promises - writing the abstract before deciding AER vs AER:Insights (the 100-word limit is the same but the *framing* differs sharply) - treating tables and figures as a final-week task; AER tables drive how reviewers read results - submitting without the consistency audit — text-table mismatches are the cheapest rejection trigger there is - skipping the referee simulation because the deadline is close; the real referees are slower and harsher - writing the rebuttal letter against the old draft instead of the revised manuscript - assembling the replication package only after acceptance — the AEA Data Editor's report is now part of the production timeline and can delay publication by weeks - defaulting to the OLS + cluster-by-state recipe; modern AER demands design-based identification ## Anti-Patterns - Using a generic "scientific writing" skill in place of `aer-introduction` or `aer-paper-body` — the conventions (no intro heading, five-paragraph Head formula, finding-first results paragraphs, magnitude discipline) are economics-specific - Using a generic "data availability" skill in place of `aer-replication` — the AEA policy is *unusually* strict and the openICPSR workflow is specific - Skipping `aer-topic-selection` because "I already know this is an AER paper" — desk rejection across the AER family is high, and the top-5 bar is *cross-subfield interest*, not technical competence - Letting any skill write citations from memory — `aer-literature`'s verification protocol is mandatory for machine-drafted text - Treating `aer-referee-sim` praise as evidence of quality; its only export is the revise list ## Repository Resources When working from the AER-skills repository or plugin bundle, load only the relevant resource: - Full workflow diagram: `docs/workflow-map.md` - Editor/referee no-go checklist: `docs/desk-rejection-audit.md` - Estimator and diagnostic defaults: `docs/methods-reference.md` - Prose rules shared by the writing skills: `docs/style-guide.md` - Scoring rubric for the internal review gate: `docs/referee-report-rubric.md` - Policy source register: `docs/source-register.md` - SkillOpt-style improvement protocol: `docs/skillopt-evaluation-protocol.md` - Held-out routing scenarios: `examples/skillopt-routing-scenarios.json` ## Skill Optimization Loop When improving this skill stack, treat `aer-workflow` as the router under test. Use `docs/skillopt-evaluation-protocol.md` to collect failures, keep each patch bounded, and accept routing or gate changes only after `python3 scripts/run_skillopt_gate.py` and `make preflight` pass. Do not tune the router by naming only the expected skill; use user-like manuscript prompts from `examples/skillopt-routing-scenarios.json` or add a new scenario first. ## Handoff Contract Whenever this skill is invoked, end with: ```text NEXT SKILL: REASON: INPUTS NEEDED: GATE STATUS: ``` This keeps the agent loop tight when the user runs multiple skills in sequence. ## Source & license This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code. - **Author:** [brycewang-stanford](https://github.com/brycewang-stanford) - **Source:** [brycewang-stanford/AER-Skills](https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/AER-Skills) - **License:** MIT Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above. ## Pricing - **Free** — Free ## Security capabilities Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access: - **Network access:** no - **Filesystem access:** no - **Shell / process execution:** no - **Environment & secrets:** no - **Dynamic code execution:** no *"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.* ## Versions - **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source. ## Links - Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-brycewang-stanford-aer-skills-aer-workflow - Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/brycewang-stanford - Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse --- Listed on AgentStack — the marketplace for AI agent skills and MCP servers. Every listing is security-reviewed. Creators keep 70%.