The Engagement Credit Economy: A Policy Architecture for Post-Automation Societies

This report presents the Engagement Credit Economy (ECE), a comprehensive policy architecture designed for societies undergoing large-scale automation and AI-driven labour displacement. It argues that traditional labour-based economic models cannot sustain social stability once a significant proportion of work becomes automated, and that a new foundation of human engagement, not employment, must underpin economic participation.

While automation forecasts vary widely, some projections suggest that 60–90% of existing tasks could be automated over the coming decades. This range is presented not as empirical certainty but as a scenario-based prediction: a recognition that no institution, model, or dataset can fully anticipate the speed or direction of technological change over a 20-year horizon. The purpose of the ECE framework is therefore precautionary — to prepare societies for a spectrum of plausible futures rather than a single forecast.

The ECE framework defines engagement as a measurable source of social and economic value: learning, care work, volunteering, civic participation, cultural activity, physical movement, and community cohesion. It proposes a national system of Engagement Credits to maintain economic circulation, strengthen social capital, and preserve democratic resilience in the post-automation era.

The report sets out:
• the automation shock and its fiscal implications
• engagement as an economic stabiliser
• the ECE distribution and governance model
• operational pathways for national deployment
• an international applicability matrix for OECD and non-OECD countries

This work is intended as a forward-looking foundation for policymakers, economists, and institutions preparing for the societal transformations triggered by advanced AI and automation.

The supplementary paper extends “The Engagement Credit Economy: A Policy Architecture for Post-Automation Societies” by outlining a financial architecture suitable for post-automation markets. It introduces Engagement-Backed Securities (EBS), a new class of safe, stability-linked derivatives whose cashflows are grounded in automation surplus and aggregate national engagement. EBS instruments provide a mechanism for converting productivity gains from automation into predictable, socially stabilising income streams that support demand, firm viability and macroeconomic resilience. The paper is intended as a conceptual bridge between macro-social policy design and future financial market structures in high-automation economies.

Note on Financial Extensions:
The supplementary paper on Engagement-Backed Securities (EBS) is presented as a long-term conceptual extension of the Engagement Credit Economy (ECE) model. EBS outlines how future financial markets may evolve once ECE mechanisms are mature, engagement metrics stabilise, and automation surplus flows become predictable.

However, EBS is not essential to the viability or implementation of the ECE framework itself. The core ECE architecture—automation surplus contributions, national engagement funding, and stabilised household demand—operates independently of any derivative instruments.

EBS should therefore be understood as a Phase 3 horizon innovation, suitable for exploration after sustained, real-world validation of the core ECE system. The ECE model remains complete and implementable without any financial derivatives.