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Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Preprint . 2026
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
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Life-Value Reflow: A Unified Framework of Time Allocation, Structural Extraction, and Population Dynamics

Authors: chen, Guoyong;

Life-Value Reflow: A Unified Framework of Time Allocation, Structural Extraction, and Population Dynamics

Abstract

Irreversible individual life duration (T) constitutes the ultimate scarce resource in economic and social systems. Building upon the Life-Value Reflow Theory, this paper constructs a unified analytical framework centered on national-level time allocation. Individual lifetime is conceptualized as sequentially allocated among four activities: survival, structural extraction, reproduction, and surplus. The structural extraction rate (η) represents the system’s compulsory appropriation of individual life time. When η exceeds a critical threshold, reproduction time is mechanically compressed, triggering declining fertility rates, systemic vitality deterioration, and an endogenous “population-extraction spiral” toward collapse. Within this framework, three classic macroeconomic paradoxes—the Solow productivity paradox, the Easterlin happiness paradox, and Piketty’s inequality dynamics—can be uniformly interpreted as different projections of the structural extraction process under the absolute constraint of finite life time. Using 2022 OECD cross-country data, the paper constructs computable macro indicators that provide preliminary empirical support for the theory’s directional predictions. By formalizing the physical constraint of lifetime, this framework reveals that the contemporary collapse in fertility rates is not merely an exogenous cultural shift, but a deterministic structural consequence of systemic extraction compressing the intergenerational reproductive time window.

Keywords

Life-Value Reflow, Macroeconomic Dynamics, Population Dynamics, Time Allocation, Fertility Decline, Nonlinear Dynamical Systems, Structural Extraction

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average
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