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.
Dynamically binding, you realize the magic. Statically binding, you see only the hierarchy.