JFQA Rebuttal (jfqa-rebuttal)

Use this skill to turn a JFQA revise-and-resubmit into an acceptance. The handling Managing Editor and the double-anonymous referees must see every concern addressed and the contribution sharpened.

Structure of the response

• A short cover letter to the handling editor: thank them, summarize the main changes, and signal how the revision resolves the central concerns.
• A point-by-point response to each referee: quote the comment, give the response, and point to the exact revised text/table/figure (page and exhibit numbers).
• Where you disagree, do so respectfully and with evidence, not assertion.

What JFQA referees typically push on

• Identification / endogeneity — add the design fix or a placebo/falsification, not just more controls (see jfqa-identification-strategy).
• Inference — clustering dimension, weak-IV-robust CIs, multiple-testing for anomalies.
• Economic magnitude — show the effect is economically, not just statistically, meaningful.
• Robustness — alternative samples/definitions/specifications.
• Contribution — re-state what is new vs. the closest rivals.

Discipline