| name | restat-replication-package |
| description | Use when assembling the data-and-code replication package for a The Review of Economics and Statistics (REStat) manuscript under the journal's Data and Code Availability Policy — the deposit to the REStat Harvard Dataverse with a README that permits replication. Builds the package; it does not run the primary analysis. |
Replication Package & Data/Code Policy (restat-replication-package)
When to trigger
- The paper is approaching acceptance and a data/code deposit will be required
- You use proprietary or restricted data and must plan for the policy before paying the fee
- A README, master script, or directory structure needs to be assembled
- You are unsure what REStat's Data and Code Availability Policy actually requires
The REStat data/code bar (refreshed 2026-06-20; live-check the official policy page)
REStat operates a Data and Code Availability Policy for empirical papers. The signature features that distinguish REStat from its siblings:
- Deposit to the REStat Harvard Dataverse (
dataverse.harvard.edu/dataverse/restat) — REStat uses a proper Dataverse archive, NOT openICPSR (which the AEA journals use) and NOT the JAE Data Archive. Getting the repository right is a load-bearing REStat detail.
- Post data and code, with documented README files, before publication. The goal is to provide enough information to permit replication of the results in the paper.
- Proprietary / restricted data: indicate this at submission. When data cannot be posted, you must document the data and provide instructions for how other researchers can obtain it. Practical note: if your paper uses proprietary data, the journal asks you not to pay the submission fee until the editorial office confirms your data comply with the policy.
- Policy generally applies to papers from volume 92 onward per the REStat Harvard Dataverse API description.
Package architecture (build it as you go)
restat-replication/
README.(md|pdf) # the heart of the deposit — see contents below
data/
raw/ # source data (or access instructions if restricted)
processed/ # built analysis files, regenerated by code
code/
00_run_all.do/.R/.py # one master script regenerating EVERY exhibit
01_build.* # raw → processed
02_analysis.* # processed → estimates
03_exhibits.* # estimates → tables/figures
output/
tables/ figures/ # exactly what appears in the paper + appendix
README contents (what permits replication)
- Data availability statement: each dataset, its source, terms, and (if restricted) exact access instructions; flag proprietary data clearly.
- Computational requirements: software + versions (Stata 18 MP / R 4.x / Python 3.x), packages with versions, OS, approximate run time and hardware.
- Instructions: how to run
00_run_all from raw data to every table/figure; what each script produces.
- Mapping: a table linking each exhibit number in the paper/appendix to the script and line that generates it.
- Seeds: set and report seeds for any simulation / bootstrap / randomization inference.
Checklist
Anti-patterns
- Depositing to openICPSR or the JAE archive — REStat uses its own Harvard Dataverse
- Treating the package as a post-acceptance chore — assemble it alongside the analysis
- A README that lists files but gives no run instructions or exhibit↔script mapping
- Unpinned package versions / unset seeds — results that will not reproduce
- Discovering only at acceptance that proprietary data cannot be posted (declare at submission)
- Paying the submission fee on a proprietary-data paper before compliance is confirmed
Output format
【Archive】REStat Harvard Dataverse confirmed? [Y/N]
【Master script】00_run_all regenerates all exhibits from data? [Y/N]
【README】availability stmt + compute reqs + instructions + exhibit↔script map? [Y/N]
【Versions/seeds】software+packages pinned; seeds set/reported? [Y/N]
【Proprietary data】flagged at submission; access instructions; fee held? [Y/N / n/a]
【Traceability】every paper number ← deposited code? [Y/N]
【Next step】restat-referee-strategy
