Comments on "Pareto weights as wedges in two-country models" by D. Backus, C. Coleman, A. Ferriere and S. Lyon

Backus, Coleman, Ferriere and Lyon study how the formulations of preferences and shocks affect the behavior of macroeconomic and financial aggregates in a simple endowment economy with no frictions. Their exercise could be considered as a first step of a rich research program that can further our understanding of international business cycles. After discussing the fundamental propagation mechanisms in standard international buSlness cycle models, I put their contribution in a broader context. I conclude with a summary of possible research questions to be explored in future work. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.