Instead of peer review, a measure of value of a publication could be as simple as counting how many times a publication is referenced.
Referenced by whom? Other papers that have been published the same way? I'm pretty sure there's a loophole somewhere in that scheme.
Granted the US is the biggest economy
Maybe I misunderstood your comment, or maybe this is a common misconception. You always hear that the US is the world's largest economy. Last time I checked, the EU had a larger GDP than the US.
Going by your UID, I'm guessing you were too young to have been there.
You'd have to guess again.
Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother. - Kahlil Gibran