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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. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. benami223_Picture AllianceGettyImages_merz_kyiv Picture Alliance/Getty Images

    Europe Confronts the Ghosts of History

    Shlomo Ben-Ami highlights just how profound a transformation European – especially German – rearmament represents.
  5. basu110_Joe RaedleGetty Images_UScanadatariffs Joe Raedle/Getty Images

    Trump’s Self-Inflicted Trade Disaster

    Kaushik Basu

    US President Donald Trump’s import tariffs have triggered a wave of retaliatory measures, setting off a trade war with key partners and raising fears of a global downturn. But while Trump’s protectionism and erratic policy shifts could have far-reaching implications, the greatest victim is likely to be the United States itself.

    warns that the new administration’s protectionism resembles the strategy many developing countries once tried.
  6. pistor40_INA FASSBENDERAFP via Getty Images_merz Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images

    The End of Germany’s Economic Delusions?

    Katharina Pistor

    It took a pandemic and the threat of war to get Germany to dispense with the two taboos – against debt and monetary financing of budgets – that have strangled its governments for decades. Now, it must join the rest of Europe in offering a positive vision of self-sufficiency and an “anti-fascist economic policy.”

    welcomes the apparent departure from two policy taboos that have strangled the country's investment.
  7. eichengreen201_Spencer PlattGettyImages_jay_powell Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    The Fed, the Fund, and the Bank in Trump’s Crosshairs

    Barry Eichengreen explains why the US president’s second administration, unlike his first, is targeting all three.
  8. gros196_NurPhotoGettyImages_von_der_leyen_zelensky NurPhoto/Getty Images

    Europe Can Easily Safeguard Ukraine

    Daniel Gros points out that the EU, the UK, and Norway have all they need to keep Russia at bay, without help from the US.
  9. roubini193_iamginimaGetty Images_northamericatrade imaginima/Getty Images

    Toward a North American Economic Union

    Nouriel Roubini explains why Canada, Mexico, and the United States should pursue EU-style integration.

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