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R. James Breiding

R. James Breiding

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R. James Breiding is the author of Swiss Made: The Untold Story Behind Switzerland’s Success (Profile Books, 2013) and Too Small to Fail: Why Some Small Nations Outperform Larger Ones and How They Are Reshaping the World (Harper Business, 2019).

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  1. Insatiably Seeking Status
    breiding2_PETER PARKSAFP via Getty Images_louisebourgeousspider Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images

    Insatiably Seeking Status

    Jul 10, 2023 R. James Breiding explains why the primary value of famous artworks lies in their buyers' appetite for positional goods.

  2. Give America a Debt Brake
    breiding1_ Fatih AktasAnadolu Agency via Getty Images_national debt clock Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

    Give America a Debt Brake

    May 29, 2023 R. James Breiding thinks the United States could learn a valuable lesson from a policy Switzerland put in place in 2003.

  1. hamada69_The Washington PostGettyImages_trump_speech The Washington Post/Getty Images

    Countering Trump’s Politics of Fear

    Koichi Hamada calls for a new set of policies that responds to, rather than dismisses, US voters’ legitimate fears.
  2. galen5_Andrew HarnikGetty Images_trumpcongress Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

    Where Are the Democrats?

    Reed Galen lambasts the party for sitting by and watching America implode, in the misguided hope of winning the midterms.
  3. moyo34_Spencer PlattGetty Images_NYSE Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    Signs of a US Recession

    Dambisa Moyo catalogues several indicators suggesting that the world's largest economy is headed for a slump.
  4. goldberg32_Spencer PlattGetty Images_USshipping Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    Trump’s Trade War

    Less than two months into his second presidency, Donald Trump has imposed sweeping tariffs on America’s three largest trading partners, with much more to come. This strategy not only lacks any credible theoretical foundations; it is putting the US on a path toward irrevocable economic and geopolitical decline.

  5. ruf1_MANAURE QUINTEROAFP via Getty Images_data center Manaure Quintero/AFP via Getty Images

    Why Frugal AI Alone Won’t Fix AI’s Energy Problem

    Boris Ruf explains why shifting the responsibility for reducing AI’s carbon footprint to end users is counterproductive.
  6. GettyImages-2176801438 TANG CHHIN SOTHY/AFP via Getty Images

    The Global South’s Path to Economic Resilience

    Anwar Ibrahim

    Today's profound global uncertainty is not some accident of history or consequence of values-free technologies. Rather, it reflects the will of rival great powers that continue to ignore the seminal economic and social changes underway in other parts of the world.

    explains how Malaysia and other middle powers are navigating increasingly uncertain geopolitical terrain.
  7. buchholz23_UCGGettyImages_ozempic_wegovy UCG/Getty Images

    America’s “HIP” Economy

    Todd G. Buchholz sees developments and breakthroughs in health, information, and power as grounds for optimism.
  8. velasco157_Robert GauthierLos Angeles Times via Getty Images_USborder Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

    Where Have All the Flowers Gone?

    Andrés Velasco reflects on the tragic fate of the country that took him in as a teenage refugee from Augusto Pinochet's Chile.
  9. chellaney185_Charly TriballeauGettyImages_unga_russia_ukraine_vote Charly Triballeau/Getty Images

    The Global Divide Over the Ukraine War

    Brahma Chellaney urges all parties to adopt a realistic approach to a deadlocked conflict and negotiate accordingly.

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