The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has published working paper 283 'Another look at global disinflation'.
This paper highlights price adjustments taking place in the global economy as the source of the lower inflation rates observed in the recent decades.
Using a markup model, it shows substantial effects from declines in wage costs and import prices relative to consumer prices.
Out of the 5 percentage point decline in the inflation rates in eight OECD countries from 1970-1989 to 1990-2006, global shocks to two relative prices account for more than 1.5 percentage points, while a monetary policy shock accounts for another 1 percentage point.