---
name: jet-tables-figures
description: Use when designing the exhibits in a Journal of Economic Theory (JET) paper — mostly schematic theory figures (best-response/phase diagrams, lattices, timing trees, mechanism flow) and small illustrative tables, kept consistent with the body's notation and rendered as vector graphics. Light for a theorem-proof journal; numerical tables only when grounded in theory.
---

# Exhibits: Tables & Figures (jet-tables-figures)

## When to trigger

- You need a diagram to convey an equilibrium, a mechanism, or a comparative-static
- You have a small numerical table illustrating a theorem
- You are formatting exhibits for elsarticle submission

## What exhibits look like at JET

JET is a **theorem-proof** journal, so most exhibits are **schematic, not data-driven**. The typical
JET figure clarifies an argument:

- **Best-response / phase diagrams**, indifference maps, region partitions of a parameter space
- **Lattices / Hasse diagrams** for order-theoretic results; **timing / extensive-form trees** for games
- **Mechanism / information flow** diagrams; revelation or allocation schematics
- **Bound / tightness plots** showing where a characterized object sits

Numerical tables are **light and subordinate** — admitted only to illustrate or test a theoretical
result (see jet-data-analysis), never as the paper's payload.

## Construction rules

- **Notation must match the body exactly** — same symbols, same names for regions/agents/types. A figure
  that renames objects costs the referee more than it saves.
- **Vector output (PDF/EPS)** for print; build diagrams in **TikZ/PGF** (native to elsarticle LaTeX) or
  `pgfplots`; export matplotlib/Julia plots to PDF.
- **Self-contained captions/notes**: define every symbol, axis, and shaded region in the note so the
  exhibit reads without the surrounding text.
- **Label the economics, not just the math**: name what a region/curve means (e.g., "pooling region"),
  not only the inequality that defines it.
- Number figures/tables and call them out in order in the text.

## Exhibit necessity test

Keep an exhibit only if it does one of four jobs:

- Makes a theorem's domain or partition visible.
- Shows a counterexample or tightness construction.
- Clarifies a mechanism, timing, information flow, or allocation rule.
- Reproduces a small numerical illustration that is subordinate to a formal result.

If the exhibit is decorative or repeats a proof step without reducing cognitive load, delete it. JET
referees value proof clarity more than visual volume.

## Default schematic by result type

| Result type | Default JET schematic | Drawing notes |
|---|---|---|
| Parameter-region characterization | partition of the parameter square (e.g., pooling vs separating) | label regions with the economics; each boundary curve gets its defining equation in the note |
| Order-theoretic / lattice result | Hasse diagram of the relevant poset | orient the diagram by the order actually used in the proof |
| Dynamic game / contract | timeline or extensive-form tree | nodes say who moves and what is observed at that point |
| Mechanism / information flow | report → allocation/transfer schematic | one arrow per message; types listed on the input side |
| Tightness of a bound | the bound and the attaining example on one axis pair | mark the attainment point explicitly so tightness is visible |

## TikZ skeleton for a region partition

```latex
\begin{tikzpicture}[scale=3]
  \draw[->] (0,0) -- (1.05,0) node[below] {$\alpha$ (ambiguity)};
  \draw[->] (0,0) -- (0,1.05) node[left]  {$\Delta$ (type gap)};
  \draw[thick] (0,0) .. controls (0.5,0.45) .. (1,0.6); % boundary from Prop. 3, eq. (11)
  \node at (0.30,0.72) {separating};
  \node at (0.70,0.22) {pooling};
\end{tikzpicture}
% Note text: symbols identical to the body; the boundary is the locus where (IC-H) binds, eq. (11).
```

Adapt the axes and boundary to your model, but keep the pattern: every drawn object traces back to
a numbered equation or constraint in the text.

## Caption discipline

- Sentence 1: what the exhibit shows **in economic terms** ("Figure 2 partitions the
  ambiguity–type-gap plane into pooling and separating regions").
- Middle sentences: define every symbol, axis, and shaded region; name the equation generating
  each curve.
- Last sentence: parameter values if numerical, with a pointer to the script that regenerates the
  exhibit (see jet-data-analysis).

## Anti-patterns

- A figure introducing notation that conflicts with the proof
- Raster screenshots or low-resolution diagrams
- A large numerical table presented as a result in a theory paper
- A diagram with no self-contained note, unreadable away from its paragraph

## Output format

```
【Exhibit】<schematic type> | small illustrative table
【Notation match】identical to body? [Y/N]
【Format】vector (TikZ/PDF), self-contained note? [Y/N]
【Role】clarifies argument | illustrates theorem (subordinate)
【Next】jet-writing-style / jet-submission
```