format-table

name	format-table
description	Format Stata regression output as a publication-ready LaTeX table. Handles esttab output, adds proper formatting, and saves to output/tables/.
argument-hint	[table description or estimation results to format]
allowed-tools	["Read","Write","Edit","Bash","Glob"]

Format Publication-Ready Table

Format Stata regression output as a publication-ready LaTeX table following AEA style.

Input: $ARGUMENTS -- description of the table to format, or path to existing esttab output.

Steps

1. Identify the source:

   • If $ARGUMENTS points to an existing .tex file, read it
   • If it describes results to format, locate the relevant .ster files or log output

2. Apply AEA formatting standards (from manuscript/aea_style_guide.md):

   • Use booktabs package (\toprule, \midrule, \bottomrule)
   • No vertical lines
   • Standard errors in parentheses below coefficients
   • Significance stars: * p<0.10, ** p<0.05, *** p<0.01
   • Include N, R-squared, and fixed effects indicators
   • Align decimal points with dcolumn where appropriate

3. Wrap in threeparttable for notes:

\begin{table}[htbp]
\centering
\begin{threeparttable}
\caption{[Descriptive Title]}
\label{tab:[label]}
\begin{tabular}{l*{N}{D{.}{.}{-1}}}
\toprule
 & \multicolumn{1}{c}{(1)} & \multicolumn{1}{c}{(2)} \\
 & \multicolumn{1}{c}{[Dep Var]} & \multicolumn{1}{c}{[Dep Var]} \\
\midrule
[Content]
\midrule
Observations & [N] & [N] \\
R-squared & [R2] & [R2] \\
Fixed Effects & [Yes/No] & [Yes/No] \\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}
\begin{tablenotes}
\small
\item \textit{Notes:} Standard errors clustered at [level] in parentheses.
* p<0.10, ** p<0.05, *** p<0.01.
\end{tablenotes}
\end{threeparttable}
\end{table}

4. Save to output/tables/[table_name].tex

5. Verify the table compiles within the manuscript

Stata esttab Reference

For generating the raw table from Stata:

eststo clear
eststo: reghdfe $outcome_var treatment $controls, absorb($fe_vars) vce(cluster $cluster_var)
eststo: reghdfe $outcome_var treatment $controls more_controls, absorb($fe_vars) vce(cluster $cluster_var)
esttab using "$tables/table_name.tex", replace ///
    booktabs se star(* 0.10 ** 0.05 *** 0.01) ///
    title("Table Title") label ///
    stats(N r2, labels("Observations" "R-squared"))

Important

• Follow manuscript/aea_style_guide.md for all formatting decisions
• Every table must be self-contained (reader can understand without text)
• Include clear column headers and row labels