Until now, the nation's recovery had been driven largely by exports.

Germany's recovery has been driven almost wholly by stronger exports.

Ultimately, our recovery will be driven not by Washington, but by our businesses and our workers.

Still, critics claimed that the big-picture economic gains had yet to trickle down to the population and that the recovery was being driven almost exclusively by surging exports.

Retail sales are up 8.5 percent so far this year, suggesting that the economic recovery is being driven by an increase in domestic demand as well as a booming export sector.

Growth in Germany stayed on track in the third quarter, but the country's recovery was still driven by foreign orders as domestic investment lagged, the Economics Ministry said yesterday.

Indeed, Mr. Perriss said he agreed with Mr. Coen that the recovery in ad spending "has been driven almost entirely by the big advertisers."

The company's recent recovery has been driven by hot sales of a few key products, particularly the one that stands out on the road, the Bentley-like Chrysler 300 sedan.

The bank's recovery in 2003 was driven by the Credit Suisse Financial Services division, which includes retail, corporate and private banking.

And while the region's initial recovery was driven by exports - particularly in Korea and Malaysia - economists say domestic consumption is perking up in these countries as well.