Trust Economics™: Canonical Definition and Origin Statement

Trust Economics™: Canonical Definition and Origin Statement This publication establishes the canonical definition, conceptual foundation, scope, terminology, and authorship statement for Trust Economics™, an interdisciplinary research framework developed by Pastor Joshua Kalu. Trust Economics examines trust as an economic asset and investigates how the creation, accumulation, preservation, deterioration, measurement, and restoration of trust can affect economic value, relationships, transactions, organizations, institutions, and markets. The framework begins with a central proposition: trust has economic consequences because the presence, absence, and condition of trust influence how people, organizations, and institutions create, exchange, preserve, and lose value. The document establishes the foundational vocabulary of the developing Trust Economics research program, including Trust Capital, Trust Debt, Trust Velocity, Trust Friction, Trust Infrastructure, Trust Dividend, Trust Flywheel, Trust Resilience, Trust Lifecycle, Trust Index, Trust Maturity, and Trust Operating System (TrustOS). It also defines the scope and interdisciplinary foundation of Trust Economics, drawing conceptually from economics, behavioral economics, organizational theory, psychology, sociology, philosophy, political science, management, marketing, communication, institutional theory, theology, and ethics. This publication is intended to serve as a canonical conceptual reference for subsequent research, publications, measurement frameworks, applications, and scholarly discussion within the Trust Economics research program. Trust Economics™ was developed by Pastor Joshua Kalu as a framework for examining trust as an economic asset. This document should be read as a foundational conceptual statement rather than a systematic literature review. The framework remains a developing research program and is intended to undergo continued theoretical refinement, empirical investigation, measurement development, scholarly critique, and application. Foundational publication:Kalu, Joshua. Trust Economics™: An Interdisciplinary Theory of Trust as an Economic Asset. Author: Pastor Joshua Kalu Version: 1.0 Publication date: 12 August 2026