mjhjmtu

How can I draw a timeline using tikz like below?

I attempted with my own code but I was not able to itemize/enumerate, and the formatting looks like a mess.

documentclass[a4paper,12 pt]article
usepackagetikz
begindocument
beginfigure
centering
begintikzpicture[x=4.5cm]
draw[black,->,thick,>=latex]
 (0,0) -- (4,0) node[below right] $scriptstyle t$;
foreach Xc in 0,...,3

 draw[black,thick] 
 (Xc,0) -- ++(0,5pt) node[above] $scriptstyle Xc$;

node[below,align=left,anchor=north,inner xsep=0pt,color=black] 
 at (0,0) 
 Nature determines the state of the economy.; 
node[below,align=left,anchor=north,inner xsep=0pt] 
 at (1,0) 
 Trading occurs; 
node[below,align=left,anchor=north,inner xsep=0pt] 
 at (2,0) 
 The manager of each firm privately observes its entry cost; 
node[below,align=left,anchor=north,inner xsep=0pt] 
 at (3,0) 
 Firms are liquidated.; 
endtikzpicture
endfigure
enddocument

Some key points of your question:

• 
  documentclass[tikz, border=5pt]standalone makes your tikzpicture more compact.


• Draw the arrow: Use draw [->] (<start point>) -- (<end point>); You can change the arrow shape as you like. (I use [-stealth] in the example below.)


• Specify coordinates: coordinate (<name>) at (<x>,<y>);
  


• Calculate coordinates: coordinate (<point1>) at ($(<point1>)+(<xshift>,<yshift>)$);. The $...$ here claims a temporaty calculation environment instead of a math formula.


• Text positioning: Use [anchor=...] options.


• Add itemize environment: Just put the them into the node as: node [...] at (...) beginitemize ... enditemize;.

Here is a working example, you can improve it with foreach grammar.

documentclass[tikz, border=5pt]standalone

usepackagetikz
usepackagelipsum

begindocument
begintikzpicture
usetikzlibrarycalc

% draw arrow
coordinate (start) at (-4,0);
coordinate (end) at (26,0);
draw [line width=2pt, -stealth] (start) -- (end);

% You can use `foreach` to improve the following codes
coordinate (s0) at (1,0);
coordinate (t0) at ($(s0)+(0,0.3)$);
coordinate (s1) at (11,0);
coordinate (t1) at ($(s1)+(0,0.3)$);
coordinate (s2) at (21,0);
coordinate (t2) at ($(s2)+(0,0.3)$);

% draw ticks
draw [line width=2pt] (s0) -- (t0);
node [anchor=south] at (t0.north) $t=0$;

draw [line width=2pt] (t1) -- (s1);
node [anchor=south] at (t1.north) $t=1$;

draw [line width=2pt] (t2) -- (s2);
node [anchor=south] at (t2.north) $t=2$;

% add texts
node [anchor=north, align=left, text width=9cm] at (s0.south) 
beginitemize
item lipsum[1]
item lipsum[2]
enditemize
;

node [anchor=north, align=left, text width=9cm] at (s1.south) 
beginitemize
item lipsum[3]
item lipsum[4]
enditemize
;

node [anchor=north, align=left, text width=9cm] at (s2.south) 
beginitemize
item lipsum[5]
item lipsum[6]
enditemize
;

endtikzpicture
enddocument

an alternative:

• using the enumitem package for lists in nodes


• node are positioned by using the positioning library


• time line is drawn from the left top corner of the first node to the right top corner of the last node


• time events are determined by the foreach loop

by this measure the document example's code is simpler, cleaner and shorter.

edit:
ups, now I see that I forgot to add the mwe :-(. now it is here:

documentclass[a4paper, 12 pt]article
usepackagetikz
usetikzlibrarypositioning
usepackageenumitem

begindocument
 beginfigure
 setlist[itemize]nosep, leftmargin=*
begintikzpicture[
 node distance = 0mm and 0.02linewidth,
 box/.style = inner xsep=0pt, outer sep=0pt,
 text width=0.32linewidth,
 align=left, font=small
 ]
node (n1) [box]
 beginitemize
 item The shareshoulders design compensation contract for the manager simultaneously.
 enditemize
 ;
node (n2) [box, below right=of n1.north east]
 beginitemize
 item The manager of each firm privately observes its entry cost;
 item The manager make entry decision simultaneously;
 item Trading and financial market occurs.
 enditemize
 ;
node (n3) [box, below right=of n2.north east]
 beginitemize
 item Entry cost and profits are realised;
 item Manager receive their compensation;
 item Firms are liquidated.
 enditemize
 ;
draw[thick, -latex] (n1.north west) -- (n3.north east);
foreach x [count=xx from 1] in 0,1,2
 draw (nxx.north) -- + (0,3mm) node[above] $t=x$;
endtikzpicture
 endfigure
enddocument

(red lines are indicate text borders)