Thursday assorted links

1. David Beckworth podcast with Hugh Rockoff — did it take 150 years for the United States to become an optimal currency area?

2. Profile of Yuja Wang.

3. Boise has more Syrian refugees than does New York City (NYT).

4. The explanatory power of marrying up and marrying down, for men vs. women.

5. Bucknell economics professor now leads an Ethiopian rebel army.

6. Speed bumps on the exchanges.