--- name: brycewang-stanford/table source: https://app.decimal.ai/s/brycewang-stanford-table@1/SKILL.md source_sha256: 11f3448239a0 --- # LaTeX Table Formatting Skill This skill generates publication-quality regression tables, summary statistics tables, and multi-panel layouts for economics journals. Covers the major table-making tools: `esttab/estout` (Stata), `modelsummary/fixest::etable` (R), and `stargazer` (R/Python). ## Quick Decision: Which Tool to Use | Tool | Language | Best For | |------|----------|----------| | `esttab/estout` | Stata | Most flexible; Stata-native workflows | | `modelsummary` | R | Modern, clean API; many output formats | | `fixest::etable` | R | Fast tables from `fixest` regressions | | `stargazer` | R | Classic; widely used in econ | | `statsmodels` summary + manual | Python | Custom formatting | ## Regression Tables ### Stata — esttab/estout ```stata * Stata — multi-model regression table ssc install estout * Run models eststo clear eststo m1: reg y x1, robust eststo m2: reg y x1 x2, robust eststo m3: reg y x1 x2 x3, robust eststo m4: reghdfe y x1 x2 x3, absorb(fe_var) cluster(cluster_var) * Export to LaTeX esttab m1 m2 m3 m4 using "results.tex", replace /// b(3) se(3) /// // 3 decimal places star(* 0.10 ** 0.05 *** 0.01) /// // significance stars title("Main Results") /// mtitles("OLS" "OLS" "OLS" "FE") /// // column titles label /// // use variable labels keep(x1 x2 x3) /// // show only key vars order(x1 x2 x3) /// stats(N r2 r2_a, fmt(%9.0fc %9.3f %9.3f) /// labels("Observations" "R-squared" "Adj. R-squared")) /// addnotes("Robust standard errors in parentheses." /// "*** p<0.01, ** p<0.05, * p<0.1") /// booktabs /// // professional formatting fragment // no \begin{table} wrapper * Multi-panel table esttab m1 m2 using "panel_a.tex", replace booktabs fragment /// prehead("\begin{table}[htbp]" "\centering" "\caption{Results}" /// "\begin{tabular}{lcc}" "\toprule" /// "& \multicolumn{2}{c}{\textit{Panel A: Full Sample}} \\" /// "\cmidrule(lr){2-3}") esttab m3 m4 using "panel_b.tex", replace booktabs fragment /// prehead("\midrule" /// "& \multicolumn{2}{c}{\textit{Panel B: Subsample}} \\" /// "\cmidrule(lr){2-3}") /// postfoot("\bottomrule" "\end{tabular}" /// "\begin{tablenotes}" "\small" /// "\item Standard errors in parentheses." /// "\end{tablenotes}" "\end{table}") ``` ### R — modelsummary ```r # R — modelsummary (modern, flexible) library(modelsummary) m1 <- lm(y ~ x1, data = df) m2 <- lm(y ~ x1 + x2, data = df) m3 <- lm(y ~ x1 + x2 + x3, data = df) # LaTeX output modelsummary( list("(1)" = m1, "(2)" = m2, "(3)" = m3), coef_map = c("x1" = "Treatment", "x2" = "Control 1", "x3" = "Control 2"), gof_map = c("nobs", "r.squared", "adj.r.squared"), stars = c('*' = .1, '**' = .05, '***' = .01), title = "Main Results", notes = "Robust standard errors in parentheses.", output = "results.tex" # also: .docx, .html, .png ) # Add fixed effects indicators modelsummary( list("(1)" = m1, "(2)" = m2, "(3)" = m3), add_rows = tribble( ~term, ~"(1)", ~"(2)", ~"(3)", "Year FE", "No", "Yes", "Yes", "Industry FE", "No", "No", "Yes" ), output = "results.tex" ) ``` ### R — fixest::etable ```r # R — etable (fast, built into fixest) library(fixest) m1 <- feols(y ~ x1, data = df, vcov = "HC1") m2 <- feols(y ~ x1 + x2 | year, data = df, vcov = ~cluster_var) m3 <- feols(y ~ x1 + x2 | year + industry, data = df, vcov = ~cluster_var) etable(m1, m2, m3, tex = TRUE, file = "results.tex", dict = c(x1 = "Treatment", x2 = "Control"), order = c("Treatment", "Control"), drop = "Intercept", fixef.group = list("Year FE" = "year", "Industry FE" = "industry"), style.tex = style.tex("aer"), # AER journal style title = "Main Results", notes = "Clustered standard errors in parentheses.") ``` ### R — stargazer ```r # R — stargazer (classic) library(stargazer) stargazer(m1, m2, m3, type = "latex", out = "results.tex", title = "Main Results", dep.var.labels = "Outcome Variable", covariate.labels = c("Treatment", "Control 1", "Control 2"), keep = c("x1", "x2", "x3"), add.lines = list( c("Year FE", "No", "Yes", "Yes"), c("Industry FE", "No", "No", "Yes") ), omit.stat = c("f", "ser"), notes = "Robust standard errors in parentheses.", notes.align = "l", star.cutoffs = c(0.1, 0.05, 0.01)) ``` ### Python — Manual LaTeX Generation ```python # Python — generate LaTeX table from statsmodels import statsmodels.formula.api as smf models = { '(1)': smf.ols('y ~ x1', data=df).fit(cov_type='HC1'), '(2)': smf.ols('y ~ x1 + x2', data=df).fit(cov_type='HC1'), '(3)': smf.ols('y ~ x1 + x2 + x3', data=df).fit(cov_type='HC1'), } # Using statsmodels summary_col from statsmodels.iolib.summary2 import summary_col result = summary_col(list(models.values()), stars=True, float_format='%.3f', model_names=list(models.keys()), info_dict={'N': lambda x: f"{int(x.nobs)}", 'R²': lambda x: f"{x.rsquared:.3f}"}) print(result.as_latex()) # For more control, use pystout: # pip install pystout from pystout import pystout pystout(models=list(models.values()), file='results.tex', endog_names=list(models.keys()), exognames=['x1', 'x2', 'x3'], stars={0.1: '*', 0.05: '**', 0.01: '***'}) ``` ## Journal-Specific Styles ### AER (American Economic Review) ```r # fixest style etable(m1, m2, m3, style.tex = style.tex("aer"), tex = TRUE) ``` Key conventions: booktabs rules, no vertical lines, significance noted in footnote not with stars (AER discourages stars). ### QJE / ReStud / Econometrica ```stata * Stata — clean academic style esttab m1 m2 m3 using "results.tex", replace /// b(3) se(3) star(* 0.10 ** 0.05 *** 0.01) /// booktabs fragment /// alignment(D{.}{.}{-1}) /// prehead("\begin{table}[htbp]" "\centering" /// "\caption{Title Here}\label{tab:main}" /// "\begin{tabular}{l*{3}{D{.}{.}{-1}}}" "\toprule") /// postfoot("\bottomrule" "\end{tabular}" /// "\begin{tablenotes}[flushleft]\footnotesize" /// "\item \textit{Notes:} Standard errors in parentheses." /// " *** p$<$0.01, ** p$<$0.05, * p$<$0.1" /// "\end{tablenotes}" "\end{table}") ``` ## Multi-Panel and Complex Layouts ### Side-by-Side Panels ```stata * Panel A: OLS, Panel B: IV esttab m_ols1 m_ols2 using "table.tex", replace booktabs fragment /// prehead("\begin{table}[htbp]\centering" /// "\caption{OLS and IV Estimates}" /// "\begin{tabular}{lcc}\toprule" /// "& \multicolumn{2}{c}{\textit{Panel A: OLS}} \\" /// "\cmidrule(lr){2-3}") esttab m_iv1 m_iv2 using "table.tex", append booktabs fragment /// prehead("\midrule" /// "& \multicolumn{2}{c}{\textit{Panel B: IV/2SLS}} \\" /// "\cmidrule(lr){2-3}") /// postfoot("\bottomrule\end{tabular}\end{table}") ``` ### Interaction Effects Table ```r # R — interaction table library(modelsummary) m_interaction <- lm(y ~ x1 * group, data = df) modelsummary(m_interaction, coef_rename = c("x1" = "Treatment", "group" = "Group", "x1:group" = "Treatment × Group"), output = "interaction.tex") ``` ## Tips for Clean Tables | Tip | Details | |-----|---------| | Use `booktabs` | `\toprule`, `\midrule`, `\bottomrule` instead of `\hline` | | No vertical lines | Standard in economics journals | | Align decimals | Use `dcolumn` package with `D{.}{.}{-1}` column type | | Stars in notes | Clearly state significance levels in table notes | | Variable labels | Use descriptive names, not variable codes | | Fixed effects rows | Show Yes/No indicators for FE inclusions | | Consistent decimals | 3 decimals for coefficients/SE; 0 for N | | Notes placement | Below the table, left-aligned, smaller font | ## Common Pitfalls - **Too many decimals**: 3 is standard for coefficients; more is noise - **Missing clustering info**: Always state what SE are clustered on - **Forgetting FE indicators**: Reviewers need to know which FE are included - **Stars without notes**: Always define significance levels - **Cramming too many models**: 4–6 columns is typical maximum ## LaTeX Integration: Paper-Ready Output When the output will be `\input{}`-ed into a compiled paper (rather than compiled standalone), three things consistently cause failures. Address them upfront. ### 1. Body-Only Files — No Document Wrapper Tools like `esttab`, `stargazer`, and manual Python scripts often emit a standalone `.tex` file with `\documentclass...\begin{document}...\end{document}`. This breaks `\input{}` in the parent paper because LaTeX cannot nest document environments. Always generate two versions: the full standalone file for spot-checking, and a **body-only** file stripped of the document wrapper for inclusion in the paper. ```python # Python — strip wrapper and save body-only file import re def save_body_only(tex_path): """Strip \documentclass...\\end{document} wrapper; keep only the table content.""" with open(tex_path) as f: txt = f.read() m = re.search(r'\\begin\{document\}(.*?)\\end\{document\}', txt, re.DOTALL) body = m.group(1).strip() if m else txt body_path = tex_path.replace('.tex', '_body.tex') with open(body_path, 'w') as f: f.write(body) return body_path ``` In the parent paper, include as: ```latex \input{tables/table2_main_results_body} % no .tex extension needed ``` Make sure each body file contains the full `\begin{table}...\end{table}` block — not just the `\begin{tabular}` fragment. A missing `\begin{table}` wrapper causes `\multicolumn` and `\caption` errors at compile time. ### 2. Avoid siunitx by Default The `siunitx` package (used for the `S` decimal-aligned column type) is absent in many TeX distributions and causes `! LaTeX Error: File 'siunitx.sty' not found`. Prefer standard column types: ```latex % Instead of: \begin{tabular}{l S S S} (requires siunitx) % Use: \begin{tabular}{l c c c} (always works) % For strict decimal alignment without siunitx, use the dcolumn package: \usepackage{dcolumn} % ships with every standard TeX distro \begin{tabular}{l D{.}{.}{-1} D{.}{.}{-1}} ``` For most robustness and heterogeneity tables, `c` columns are sufficient — the numbers are clearly readable without strict decimal alignment. Also avoid Unicode characters in Python-generated `.tex` files. Characters like `>=`, `->`, `<=` typed directly will break LaTeX. Always use their LaTeX equivalents: `$\geq$`, `$\rightarrow$`, `$\leq$`. ### 3. Overflow Prevention for Wide Tables A table with 6 or more columns, or with a text description column, will almost certainly overflow the page width in portrait mode. Apply these fixes together: ```latex % Rule: >=6 columns → wrap in landscape; text description column → use p{Xcm} not l \usepackage{pdflscape} % add to preamble % In the body file: \begin{landscape} \begin{table}[ht] \centering \caption{...} \begin{threeparttable} {\footnotesize\setlength{\tabcolsep}{4pt} % shrink font + column padding \begin{tabular}{p{4.5cm} c c c c c c} % p{} for text col, c for data cols ... \end{tabular}} \begin{tablenotes}[flushleft]\small \item \textit{Notes}: ... \end{tablenotes} \end{threeparttable} \end{table} \end{landscape} ``` **Quick reference for portrait mode** (1.25in margins, ~16.5cm text width): | Columns | First column | Approach | |---------|-------------|----------| | 3-4 | `l` | Portrait, no special treatment needed | | 5-6 | `p{4.5cm}` + `{\footnotesize\setlength{\tabcolsep}{4pt}}` | Portrait, tight | | 7+ | `p{Xcm}` + `\footnotesize` | Landscape always | Keep `\begin{tablenotes}` text concise — a long inline math expression that cannot line-break (e.g., a full regression formula) will produce an `Overfull \hbox` even when the table itself fits. Summarize the spec in plain language in the note and put the equation in the methods section instead. ## Related Skills & Commands - **stats**: Summary statistics tables (Table 1) - **ols-regression**: Generate regression results to format - **/robustness**: Side-by-side robustness specifications tables - **/method**: Methods section references the tables - **paper-writing**: Tables are a key component of the paper