Do you do this very quickly at the start? If so, the maintenance costs would be disastrous.

I go easy on the buildings at the start. Once I have a bunch of colonies, then I can go nuts on the planetary improvements, and still have plenty of cash to spare.

That's all and good -- but how do you manage to set up the infrastructure for accomplishing this? Your strategy still assumes that you have much more research available than they do; how do you afford those labs, and that huge TA research cost? I've read many people saying to never reduce the production slider from 100, but I have to almost always -- I simply bounce over and under the -500 each turn otherwise, and my morale crashes. By the time I strike a balance, I'm not out-researching the enemy. This is the basis of my problem. Even trading techs with a high diplomacy difference in my favor, I can't get much. They're either broke or just not willing to pay much.

When you say you are nowhere near the others on research, is it actually affecting the game outcome? Are you relying on the graph to tell you that you are behind on research?

I ask because I have come to trust the graphs less and less. For example I just completed a game where the Torians had 3x my econ, mil and research but when I came to attack them they didn't seem to have that much of anything... I think the graphs can be misleading.

Cheers

Here are the TA econ tips that helped me really improve my econ:

Build a recruitment center on every newly colonized world! Unless the planet is above average (size, special tiles) don't build anything else until you can actually afford it. Keep morale at exactly 100% as long as possible (for doubled population growth), adjust the tax slider every turn. If you reduce it, check your second happiest planet to stay at 100% there, if you still need more keep the next one at 100%, etc. The next breakpoint is 76%, you definitely want to stay over that on your home world early on. Putting a morale building on the home world very early is often useful.

Also, about 1/4 of your worlds should be purely econ (other than the factories you need to build your social projects). Later in the game try to evenly distribute population: one farm per planet, no farms on the homeworld. I usually also put a stock market on every planet. Usually all the econ worlds get over the other worlds are lots of stock markets. Maybe an extra farm if you have a morale tile, or you might put the farm on a double food tile. Never put a farm on a quad food tile.

Also, 100% production should be the natural setting of your spending slider. Anything else means you're wasting maintenance. Sometimes lowering it cant be avoided, but that usually means you have too many buildings.

About buildings: the maintenance costs are higher in TA. This just reinforces what's always been true: building factories/labs is just spending money to spend more money. First you pay to produce the building, then you pay for the maintenance and increased production. Never forget that. With the higher maintenance costs you need to decide whether every building is worth building. If you see you wont be able to pay for the added maintenance and production either build nothing or put a stock market on that tile. With races that have efficient buildings (basic replicators, slave pits/canyons, schools, slaveling labs, some one per planet stuff) you have to do this a lot less, so if you don't like having to think about every building you could play one of the races that have those. The only ones that stay efficient at higher tech levels are the slave buildings however.

More about buildings: check the efficiency. For an industrial sector you pay 400 to build it, then 10 maintenance for 12 production. For a manufacturing center you only pay 150, then 6 maintenance for 10 production. So you pay 4 extra maintenance for 2 extra production, and an added 250 in production costs. Unless it's on a bonus tile that's rarely worth it. With those 250 production you could almost have built 3 constructors and made an econ starbase, easily getting you more than just 2 added production (usually only worth it maintenance wise it if it affects multiple planets, construction cost can also make it unviable). Like you should think about every new building you should think about doing some upgrades. If you don't have some good resource starbases or lots of capped econ starbases you probably shouldn't even research industrial sectors. For labs it's a bit more complicated. Efficiency gets better until you get to research academies. The invention matrix is crazy expensive and less efficient. Discovery spheres are actually less expensive and only slightly less efficient. Neutrality learning centers are more efficient again, but at 500 production cost they are overpriced IMO. Further: maintenance wise power plants and research coordination centers are excellent. The production cost is high though. High level morale buildings get really bad cost and maintenance wise BTW. If you really need a high level building first build an entertainment network, then put the better building over it.

Of course different races have different buildings. Before you play a race, look at their tech tree and check out their production buildings. Galactopedia is an excellent tool for that.

Bottom line: Know your production buildings and don't build too many of them. If you see an empty tile, a stock market is ALWAYS an option. Upgrading buildings is optional. And don't forget about recruitment centers on new planets, those babies rock!