These negative output gaps-and the associated downward pressure on prices-reflect the adjustment process that economies normally undergo in the ’bust’phase of an economic cycle. Following a period of sustained economic boom, many Asian economies now suffer from an investment overhang and excessive private sector debt. A purging of those excesses naturally sets off a lingering series of deflationary aftershocks on the demand side. Weaknesses in the world economy, accentuated by the highly synchronized nature of the slow down among industrial countries, also contributed to the decline in inflation rates during 2000-2002. Finally, the trend appreciation of the baht has contributed to keeping inflation low, although this contribution is likely to have been quite small given Thailand’s low degree of exchange rate pass- throughTurning to more fundamental economic forces, persistent downward pressure on prices in Thailand, as well as the Asian region more generally, has been exerted by the substantial output gaps that emerged following the crisis in 1997