I've given lots of thought to the ideas you mention, the in-game economy is a very interesting one. Typically in survival games you have to gather resources from the environment, wood and stone etc to build houses however I don't think that fits too well with the theme. One thing that does ring true is crafting professions as seen in the likes of Guild Wars and WoW. Now bear with me because there's a lot of ground to cover!
What I think would be really cool would be that when the Player (By Player I refer to the AI controlled civilians) reaches a certain level they decide whether to become an adventurer - where they branch off to be a Warrior, Hunter etc. Or they become a Crafter, where they become blacksmiths, cooks etc. You as the designer will be able to affect the chance of what they become by building certain building types (like a Kitchen, upgradable with add ons to boost the cook profession's desirability).
Now the adventurer's needs shops with good loot in them, the higher the level they are, the higher tier equipment they need to survive. But shops in this game get their stock from the crafters, who instead of hunting monsters they gather resources, craft items and sell them to shops which fuels the economy. There might even be some end game content such as an auction house, which streamlines the exchange.
So imagine this, you see a warrior fighting a dragon with legendary glowing gear on, you click him and can see he is level MASTER and has the sword "McLovin's Sword of Justice" equipped. You can click McLovin's name and you're taken to the very Player that crafted his sword - A level MASTER blacksmith :D. I'm so pumped about those kinds of interactions and minor details it's unreal.
Social will definitely be a building type you need to manage, in the forms of taverns, inns, guilds and PVP arenas. Players will need downtime from their usual pattern to hang out at social spots.
I have been watching the series yes, it's been great having that going on while I've been designing :D.
Aiming for an alpha build out ASAP, before spring I hope. Initially it will be more of a creative experience than a game - like creative mode in Minecraft but with AI, but i'm keen on getting you guys feedback throughout development.
Thanks for the comment