2. To Integrate Long- and Short-Term Interest Alignment in Interactions
RZE introduces temporal layering of incentives, allowing economic behavior to be understood not merely as a function of immediate payoffs, but also as adaptive navigation between short-term tactics and long-term strategic positions. This dual-layer interest model adds depth to models of delayed gratification, trust-building, or betrayal for future gain.
3. To Model Trust, Reputation, and Memory Dynamically
Trust in RZE is neither binary nor static---it is modeled as an evolving score that shifts based on recent behaviors, prior history, and zone transitions. RZE formalizes this via a relational scoring function sensitive to time, context, and variable weights (e.g., intention, transparency, benefit asymmetry), thereby capturing the non-linearity of trust decay and repair.
4. To Provide a Diagnostic and Predictive Tool for Real-World Systems
RZE aims not only to describe but also to diagnose relational dynamics across economic domains: startup funding cycles, supply chain negotiations, collective resource governance, etc. By assigning actors to dynamic zones (white, green, yellow, red, black, clear), RZE can predict likely transitions and suggest adaptive strategies for negotiation, mediation, and policy intervention.
In essence, Relational Zone Economics moves beyond the limited frame of "who gets what" toward a more comprehensive model of "who stands where, why, and for how long," with deep implications for policy, management, and algorithmic decision-making.
C. Core Theoretical Contribution of RZE (Relational Zone Economics)
The core theoretical contribution of Relational Zone Economics (RZE) lies in its integration of adaptive systems theory, behavioral economics, and dynamic game theory into a relational-memetic framework that accounts for ambiguity, trust evolution, and temporally-sensitive strategic positioning.
We summarize this contribution along five interlocking innovations:
1. Zone-Based Relational Topology as a Formal Economic Layer
