The 12-month-old U.S. economic recovery is in “good shape,” a new survey of economists advises. The National Association for Business Economists reports that 46 panelists of macroeconomic forecasters “marked up their predictions for economic growth in 2010 and expect performance to exceed its long-term trend this year and next,” according to a press release published by NABE today. The upbeat view comes at a time when the deflationary risks appear to be rising, if only slightly, as we discussed last week (here and here). The great struggle between growth vs. contraction in the post-recession period has begun. Expansion still has the upper hand, but the minions of decline aren’t going to fade away quietly.