As the nation battles an economic recession, experts say Iowa’s economy is recovering quickly and hasn’t been affected as drastically as the rest of the United States.

“The recession in Iowa isn’t bad compared to the nationwide recession,” said Ken Stone, professor of agricultural economics.

In fact, the nation seems to be recovering already, he said.

Prices are stable, and there is not much evidence of inflation, which is another good sign of a stable economy, said Peter Orazem, professor of economics. Unemployment isn’t too high nationally, but it is especially low in Iowa, he said.

“Only certain sectors of the economy are specifically being affected by the recession,” one of which is tourism, Orazem said. People won’t be traveling as much over the holidays, he said.

On the other hand, people will abandon traveling and airplanes in general this year, which frees up money for retail spending, Stone said.

“Sales in the high end of retail are slow, but Wal-Mart is doing great,” Orazem said.

The differences in buying is not in how much people are buying on average, but rather what they are buying, he said. People are looking for bargains – “not buying at Neiman Marcus,” Orazem said.

Consumers become more economical when the economy is in question, Stone said. This would explain why people are reluctant to spend a lot of money when they can save by shopping at discount outlets, he said.

Daniel Sprouls, assistant manager at Wal-Mart, 3015 Grand Ave., said sales still are high, but people aren’t spending as much as they did last year.

“[People] definitely come here for low prices,” Sprouls said. “We’re guaranteed to have the lowest prices around.”

People are also investing in “comfort items,” he said. Items such as home entertainment centers, furnishings for the home and electronics are selling well. Stone said he thinks this might be because people are planning to spend more time at home.

“I can see how people would want to come home and be comfortable,” said Dave Madsen, store owner of Oak Hill Furniture, 329 Main St. “I saw a dip in the final quarter of the last year, and even more since Sept. 11. But things are coming back.” Iowans’ holiday shopping will amount to a “decent holiday season” in comparison to last year, Stone said.

“I predict 2 to 3 percent more spending this year in Iowa,” he said.

Last year, people had many more expenditures, Stone said. The severe winter created high heating and gas prices. Sept. 11 also put a damper on buying. The “pent up demand” for people to buy will “loosen purse strings” and keep the economy going, he said.

Sales declined this fall at North Grand Mall, 2801 Grand Ave., but sales have picked up gradually as the holidays approach, said North Grand Mall General Manager Kurt Carlson.

“Most [store] sales are the same or a little bit higher than last year at this time,” Carlson said.

The stock market, a predictor of the economy, has made up the reduction that followed Sept. 11, Orazem said.

“[There] is not a lot of concern for a recession,” he said. “There are relatively good signs that the recession will not be steep.”