as you observed - the grain of activity is traders. - traders go NOT only where the money is - but where the money is in relation to the efford needed.
right now - there are many traders in the edgeworld ( zoners ). that doesn t mean they are doing ooRP stuff, the very contrary even - but the edgeworlds are "draining" activity from the core.
now - you may say "but liberty is full of players" - yes, but thats not the players that populate the core systems. - liberty is full of mostly new players or players that still need time to get used to the whole mod. - many players that feel "safer" pick the edgeworlds over houses.
why is that so?
for one - there is a thicket of playerrules. - players have trouble knowing who is with who, who is my enemy, who is neutral to me, who is my friend? - what is contraband? where does what ZoI start and end?
and to complicate matters - travelling by tradelane and jumpgates is ( sadly ) more complicated than travelling via long cruise distances and jumpholes.
the tradebalance made it so that cooperation traders were the new pinacle of traders over independent traders. - but self restrictions, restrictions and rules made it hard. - not particularly hard per se - but harder than a zoner trader in the edgeworlds.
things are easier there - clearer, more transparent. you don t make more profit there - but you sure don t need to read up dozens of pages of legal codexes or other rules. and you re not caught in muliple pirate clans that have a much easier life at lanes. - you rae never confronted by zealous police ships that think they need someone to boss around.
all in all - the edgeworlds drain your activity - and the reason is - its simply easier there.
its hard to get a balance. - in order to get traders, you must offer them something they don t have in other places. - but the idea is not only to get traders - but also pirates - which is again ... contra-productive to being attractive to traders. - unless you offer a flawless police. - all in all, its rathe complex.
many traders ( in 4.84 ) felt at least as much harrassed by some police / military as they were harrassed by pirates. - yet - the routes in the core were ... all in all ... shorter and easier than the edgeworld routes. ( diamonds / niobium is a bad - but also a good example )
truth is - if you consider trading "money making" and not really "roleplaying" - the edgeworlds are better suited. - you jump in, press the autopilot and get a coffee. - chances that you re intercepted in open space are tiny ( compared to be pirated at crossroads of tradelanes ) - you also have less NPCs annoying you ( since even friendly NPCs shoot down a lane and make delay you in the MOST annoying way )
all that boils down to is not that the edgeworlds need a nerf - but that the core needs something to be more attractive to traders. - that can be quite a lot. - from safer lanes to more profit, better or shorter routes, safer "checkpoints" where traders can run to when chased by pirates ( like stationary cruisers ). etc.
the only advantage in the core is that - IF a trader is confronted by a pirate - he can usually make it to the next station to dock to safety. - in the edgeworlds in the big wide nothing, - a pirate has an advantage ... IF he can catch you in the first place ( which again is easier in the core )