Causal Identification (jf-identification)

When to trigger

• The paper makes a causal claim ("X causes Y") resting on a research design
• You rely on an instrument, a shock, a discontinuity, or a diff-in-diff and a referee will attack the exclusion/parallel-trends assumption
• Endogeneity (reverse causality, omitted variables, selection) threatens the headline result

Scope: corporate / empirical causal effects. For cross-sectional asset-pricing tests use jf-empirical-design.

JF's bar for identification

JF is the AFA flagship, general-interest, with a ~5% acceptance rate and ~33–45% desk rejection (afajof.org editor reports, accessed 2026-05-30). For a corporate/empirical paper, credible identification is usually the binding constraint — a clever question with a weak design is a classic JF desk reject. The design must convince a broad AFA readership, not just specialists.

Design audit