The balance is not that the Axis are favored, it is that the Allies play too aggressive and play into the Axis hands due to their early advantage in units. Once the Allies lose their stacks, they are crippled for multiple turns - which swings the economic factor due to time in favor of the Axis. The key, in my opinion, is to play for the long game as the Allies:
Defend London
Take and Deny the Axis Egypt
Never expose your stacks to the Axis until you have no other choice in Russia, China and the Pacific.
Encourage the Axis to over-extend, then pounce.
The economic advantage is in your favor as the Allies, but you have to be patient with it and overlap your agenda with your Allied nations. The US can advance the UK in the Atlantic by just stacking in places where the UK wants to move. Same can be said about Anzac in the Pacific. Let the US handle the actual agenda, let Anzac (and India if they are capable) push the bill and take the territories.
DNG with a NB becomes increasingly valuable for the Allies to project all sorts of chaos for Japan. It is worth putting no units down for a turn in order to be able to project all over the Axis Pacific map from there.
Much can be learned from looking at the Patton and Monty issue in WW2. Monty got much of the glory because the US did the heavy lifting to enable him to do so. Ply a similar strategy in both theaters and you will see results.
The game is not for the Axis to win, but for the Allies to lose.