How confident are you that you understand background facts on economic issues? Every year at our Economic Outlook Luncheon, we challenge our guests to test their economic acumen, specifically as it applies to the state of Arizona.

Professor Dennis Hoffman, director of the L. William Seidman Research Institute at the W. P. Carey School, gave an analysis of the state’s budget situation. He says taxes on individuals are relatively low in Arizona, and the public pensions are generally solvent.

Job Growth, Arizona EcoomyArizona is adding jobs at a rate that puts the state in the top 10 for job growth, but full economic recovery is still ahead, according to Lee McPheters, economist and director of the JPMorgan Chase Economic Outlook Center at the W. P. Carey School of Business.

U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the measure of the nation's output of goods and services, grew by 2.2 percent in the first quarter of 2012, according to the latest figures from the U. S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Arizona employment increased by 1.9 percent year-over-year in March, advancing the state into the 8th position in the job creation rankings. Last year at this time, the Grand Canyon State ranked 36th.

With inflation-adjusted gas prices as high as they’ve ever been, why aren’t we hearing more about pocketbook pain? Robert Mittelstaedt, dean of the W. P. Carey School of Business looked at the factors affecting gas prices and the ways we’ve responded.

The “2011 Metro-Phoenix Business Study: New Strategies for Success,” commissioned by SRP paints a community that fought hard to survive the recession, but is now cautiously optimistic about the future. All would like to return to pre-recession conditions, but the downturn has left its mark.

A sharp surge in inventories helped U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grow by 3.0 percent in the final quarter of 2011, according to the latest figures from the U. S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

When the Arizona economy went into a severe downturn at the end of 2007, mounting job losses, rising foreclosures and increases in unemployment raised the possibility that Arizona’s population might actually begin to decrease as job seekers went elsewhere. New U.S.

At the Economic Club of Phoenix Luncheon on March 13, 2012, the audience heard about the state of the airline industry as the economy slowly recovers. Listen to the keynote presentation.