--- name: latex-empirical-tables description: >- Set up, format, fix, and clean up LaTeX regression and estimation tables in empirical economics or finance papers. Use when (a) creating a .tex, results.tex, main.tex, or preamble to display regression or estimation output from Python (pyfixest), Stata, or R — including any mention of estout, esttab, estauto, estwide, or table fragments; (b) formatting or repairing estout-style regression tables that overflow the right margin, have cramped or boxed notes, misaligned columns, or poor significance stars, or when asked to match a reference paper, make the note fill the table width, or choose among \estwide, \estauto, and landscape layouts; (c) diagnosing "Misplaced \omit" errors from \input-ed table fragments inside tabular environments. Covers \@@input, \estwide, \estauto, \estautoLT, \specialcell, \sym, minipage notes below tabulars, and the convert-and-verify workflow. Do NOT trigger for general LaTeX documents like beamer presentations, problem sets, letters, or CVs. metadata: author: Claude Code version: 1.1.0 date: 2026-07-20 consolidates: Merges estout-table-formatting, latex-results-preamble, and latex-input-multicolumn-omit-fix into one skill. ---

# LaTeX Empirical Tables

Empirical economics and finance papers export regression and estimation output as estout/esttab "body fragments" — rows of `\multicolumn` headers, coefficients with `\sym` stars, and parenthesised p-values or SEs, with no `\toprule`/`\bottomrule` — pulled into the manuscript through a wrapper macro (`\estauto`/`\estwide`/`\estautoLT`). Done well this reads like a top-journal table. Done naively it looks broken: wide tables spill past the right margin, the note legend is jammed inside the tabular as a boxed cell, columns sit at uneven widths, and `\input`-ed fragments throw "Misplaced \omit". This skill sets a results `.tex` up from scratch, converts ugly estout tables to the gold-standard pattern, and diagnoses the `\omit` error. The reasoning behind each choice is given so you can adapt rather than copy blindly.

## Routing

| You want to... | Go to | |----------------|-------| | Set up `results.tex`/`main.tex` and its preamble from scratch | Section A | | Fix or reformat existing estout tables (overflow, cramped notes, stars, alignment) | Section B | | Diagnose a "Misplaced `\omit`" error from an `\input`-ed fragment | Section C | | Merge several self-compiling block `results.tex` files into one master document | Section D | | Fix skipped table numbers (Table 1, Table 3, ...) when `\captionof` + `longtable` are combined | Section D |

---

# Section A — Build a results document from scratch

When producing regression or estimation tables, follow this workflow to create a compilable LaTeX document with a standard empirical-economics preamble and estout macros.

## Directory structure

All output lives under `outline/` relative to the project root:

``` outline/ ├── preamble/ │ └── preamble.tex ← LaTeX preamble (no \begin{document}) ├── Tables/ │ ├── table_01.tex ← table fragments (auto-increment) │ ├── table_02.tex │ └── ... ├── Figures/ │ └── ... ← figures (.pdf, .png, etc.) └── results.tex ← master document (created on first table) ```

## Step-by-step workflow

### 1. Ensure directories exist

Create `outline/preamble/` and `outline/Tables/` if they don't already exist. Also create `outline/Figures/` if figures will be produced.

### 2. Save the preamble

Copy `references/preamble.tex` from this skill's directory to `outline/preamble/preamble.tex`. This file contains everything up to but NOT including `\begin{document}` — the document class, all packages, and the estout macro definitions (`\estauto`, `\estwide`, `\estautoLT`, `\sym`, `\specialcell`). The macros are defined there in full; Section B lists a minimal subset if you only need to graft them onto an existing preamble.

Do NOT create `outline/results.tex` yet — it gets created automatically when the first table is generated.

### 3. When producing a table

Each time a regression or summary table is generated:

1. Save the table fragment to `outline/Tables/table_XX.tex` with auto-incrementing numbering (01, 02, 03, ...).

2. If `outline/results.tex` does **not** exist, create it: ```latex \input{preamble/preamble}

\begin{document}

\section{Tables}

\subsection{Descriptive Title} \begin{table}[H] \caption{Descriptive Title} \centering \estauto{Tables/table_01.tex}{N}{D{.}{.}{-1}} \end{table} \FloatBarrier

\end{document} ```

3. If `outline/results.tex` **already exists**, insert the following block BEFORE `\end{document}`: ```latex \subsection{Descriptive Title} \begin{table}[H] \caption{Descriptive Title} \centering \estauto{Tables/table_XX.tex}{N}{D{.}{.}{-1}} \end{table} \FloatBarrier ```

Where `N` = number of data columns in the fragment (excluding the label column).

## Estout table macros

Three macros are defined in the preamble for including table fragments generated by any tool (pyfixest, esttab, R, etc.). All use the TeX primitive `\@@input` to avoid `\multicolumn`/`\omit` errors (Section C explains why this matters).

| Macro | Use case | Environment | |-------|----------|-------------| | `\estauto{file}{ncols}{colspec}` | Standard-width tables | `tabular` | | `\estwide{file}{ncols}{colspec}` | Full-page-width tables | `tabular*` | | `\estautoLT{file}{ncols}{colspec}` | Multi-page tables | `longtable` |

The default column spec is `D{.}{.}{-1}` (decimal-aligned via `dcolumn`). Use `c` only when columns contain non-numeric content.

## Table fragment format

Fragments must follow these conventions — the wrapper macros add `\toprule` and `\bottomrule`, so fragments should NOT include them.

### Structure: - Column headers: `\multicolumn{1}{c}{(1)}` style - Group headers: `\multicolumn{N}{c}{Group Name}` with `\cmidrule(lr){start-end}` - Coefficients right-aligned, p-values in parentheses on the next line - Significance: `\sym{*}` p<0.10, `\sym{**}` p<0.05, `\sym{***}` p<0.01 - Multi-line variable names: `\specialcell{Line1 \\ Line2}` - `\addlinespace` between variable blocks - `\midrule` before summary statistics - Yes/No rows: `\multicolumn{1}{c}{Yes}` - Numeric summary stats: raw numbers, no `\multicolumn` wrapper - Do NOT end with a trailing `\\` (the macro appends `\\ \bottomrule`)

Because the wrapper expands the TeX primitive `\@@input` rather than `\input`, a fragment may begin with `\multicolumn` spanning all columns without error; Section C explains why that matters and what to do if a house preamble expands plain `\input` instead.

### Example fragment:

```latex &\multicolumn{2}{c}{OLS} &\multicolumn{2}{c}{IV} \\\cmidrule(lr){2-3}\cmidrule(lr){4-5} &\multicolumn{1}{c}{(1)} &\multicolumn{1}{c}{(2)} &\multicolumn{1}{c}{(3)} &\multicolumn{1}{c}{(4)} \\ \midrule Treatment & 0.245\sym{**} & 0.312\sym{***}& 0.198\sym{*} & 0.267\sym{**} \\ & (0.024) & (0.003) & (0.087) & (0.041) \\ \addlinespace Control Variable & -0.031 & -0.045 & -0.028 & -0.039 \\ & (0.542) & (0.388) & (0.601) & (0.452) \\ \midrule Observations & 1500 & 1500 & 1500 & 1500 \\ Firm FE &\multicolumn{1}{c}{Yes} &\multicolumn{1}{c}{No} &\multicolumn{1}{c}{Yes} &\multicolumn{1}{c}{No} \\ Year FE &\multicolumn{1}{c}{Yes} &\multicolumn{1}{c}{Yes} &\multicolumn{1}{c}{Yes} &\multicolumn{1}{c}{Yes} \\ Adjusted R-Sq & 0.342 & 0.215 & & \\ F Statistic & 12.450 & 8.320 & & \\ ```

## Optional: Bibliography support

If the document needs references, add this to `outline/preamble/preamble.tex` (before the end of the file):

```latex % --- References (biblatex + biber, APA) --- \usepackage[numbib]{tocbibind} \usepackage[ backend=biber, style=apa, backref=true, ]{biblatex} \addbibresource{references.bib} \renewcommand*{\bibfont}{\setstretch{1.2}} \setlength\bibitemsep{1em} ```

---

# Section B — Fix or reformat existing tables

The gold-standard pattern and the procedure to convert an ugly set of estout tables to it. Read `references/conversion-example.md` for a full before/after.

## What good looks like (the four practices)

1. **Wrapper macros use the TeX primitive `\@@input`, not `\input`.** estout fragments typically start with `\multicolumn{...}`, whose internal `\omit` must be the first token in the cell; LaTeX's `\input` wraps the file read in non-expandable file-existence checks that execute *in that first cell*, so the fragment throws **"Misplaced \omit"**. The primitive `\@@input` (inside `\makeatletter … \makeatother`) does not, so the fragment renders. Section C gives the full root cause and the before/after fix.

2. **Wide tables fill `\textwidth` via `\estwide` (a `tabular*`).** A plain `\begin{tabular}` sizes to its natural content width — fine for 2–3 narrow columns, but a 5–6 column regression table overflows the margin (you see `Overfull \hbox` on the table rows and the right edge runs off the page). `\estwide` uses `\begin{tabular*}{\textwidth}{@{\hskip\tabcolsep\extracolsep\fill}l*{N}{c}}` so the inter-column glue (`\extracolsep\fill`) spreads the columns to exactly `\textwidth`. The table now fits and the columns are evenly distributed.

3. **Notes live OUTSIDE the tabular, in a `\minipage` below it.** This is the single most common defect. Putting the legend inside the fragment as a `\multicolumn{N}{l}{\footnotesize ...}` row makes the note part of the ruled box, clamps it to the table's width, and breaks awkwardly. Instead, strip those rows out of the fragment and place the note in a `\begin{minipage}{\textwidth}\footnotesize{Note: ...}\end{minipage}` *below* the `\estwide`/`\estauto` call. The note then spans the text block, wraps cleanly, and reads like a journal table note. If the float wraps the table in `\resizebox{..\textwidth}{!}{...}`, the `\minipage` note goes *outside* that box — a note left inside is scaled with the table to a tiny font and clamped to the table width (the "the note doesn't fill the page" complaint). See "Special case" below.

4. **Each table float is consistent:** `\begin{table}[!htbp]` (or `[H]`), `\caption{...}`, `\label{...}`, `\centering`, the `\estwide`/`\estauto` call, then the `\minipage` note, then `\end{table}`. Multi-line column headers use `\specialcell{...}`; grouped columns get `\cmidrule(lr){a-b}`.

## The macros (minimal block to add to an existing preamble)

Add these once to an existing preamble. They require `booktabs` (for `\toprule`/`\midrule`/`\bottomrule`/`\cmidrule`). `\estwide` and `\estauto` are siblings; keep BOTH so you can pick per table. (Section A's `references/preamble.tex` already contains these plus `\estautoLT`.)

```latex \makeatletter % Natural-width estout table. \@@input (TeX primitive) lets a fragment that % starts with \multicolumn render without a "Misplaced \omit" error. \newcommand{\estauto}[3]{% \vspace{.75ex}{% \begin{tabular}{l*{#2}{#3}}\toprule\@@input #1 % \\ \bottomrule \addlinespace[.75ex] \end{tabular}% }% } % Full-\textwidth estout table: a tabular* whose \extracolsep\fill spreads the % columns to fill the page, so a wide table stops overflowing the margin. \newcommand{\estwide}[3]{% \vspace{.75ex}{% \begin{tabular*}{\textwidth}{@{\hskip\tabcolsep\extracolsep\fill}l*{#2}{#3}}\toprule\@@input #1 % \\ \bottomrule