In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, the main challenge facing the U.S. and its trading partners was a return to growth. After these economies improved in 2010, the outlook now for the main trading partners of the U.S.

Elinor Ostrom, the 2009 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, told the audience at the Economic Club of Phoenix Luncheon that there's ample evidence to prove that polycentric, or multilevel, approaches — even relatively easy fixes that can be implemented by local communities, busines

The Great Recession ended in the second quarter of 2009, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. Nonetheless, public perception of the health of the economy remains gloomy many months later.

Economists like to talk about the shape of the economic recovery. Ideally, it would have been V-shaped: a rapid, dramatic upswing following the recession. Several months into the recovery, which technically began in June 2009, economists were predicting a still-not-shabby U-shape.

Arizona's economic recovery will continue to move at a glacial speed in 2011 — but at least it's moving. The coming new year will see an increase in job creation, a rise in population and even a modest increase in single-family home permits.

A cynic might say that information systems consultants shortchange their clients. They can, for example, promise more than they deliver. Or they can tarry and delay. Or they might ask, on the back end, to bill for "unanticipated" work.

More state labor markets are pulling out of the economic slump created by the recession. As recently as March of this year, only two states (North Dakota and Alaska) were adding nonfarm jobs year-over-year. By May, the number of states posting year-to-year growth had improved to an even dozen.

The team from the Department of Information Systems that created decision-support software to help distribute crucial H1N1 vaccine knew that for this project, speed trumped all other protocols.

Optimism about the strength of the recovery took another hit when the June employment numbers were released recently. Economy-watchers had expected at least modest growth, but seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment fell by 125,000 jobs from May.

As the calendar approaches the mid-year mark, the economy through the first half appears on track to exceed earlier expectations, thanks to increased spending by consumers and the willingness of businesses to build inventories and invest in new equipment and software.