1.The economic situation is as serious as was expected.
2.The economic situation is serious, as was expected.
我感觉都对。
刚看到这个，这是一个非常不错的问题！
1.Theeconomic situation is as serious as was expected.
2.The economic situation isserious, as was expected.
先说第二句，这个比较简单。根据目前的语法觉得是：as非常像关系代词引导非限制性定语从句，as作主语，对应的是前面整个句子“The economic situation is serious”，这种语法结构非常容易见到。大家熟知的as you know也是如此，不同在于as you know的as是关系代词作宾语代替整个语句。
譬如：
The world, as we know, is made up of small particles calledatoms.
上面的第二句还可以改写为：
The economic situation is serious, as expected. 这里的as expected是一个习语，直接记住就能。譬如：
As expected , the Democrats won the majority of seats inCongress.
As expected , the party was a great success.
The parcel arrived the next day，asexpected.
再说第一句，典型的as......as结构，你如此的写法的也有例句，极少：
Progress with the building of the bridgewas not so good as was expected.（章振邦新编高级英语语法P674）
这个句子我觉得不可以算错，只不过章振邦的讲解我不认可：比较分句可以说省略了主语，也可以说是由as充当比较分句的主语。我对这个讲解持保注意见。若是说“省略了主语”，那没省略之前应该是as it was expected to be（as作表语，to be不要省略，那这就对了）。若是说“由as充当比较分句的主语”，那as引导的限制性定语从句的先行词是什么，非常怪的讲解。
The firm isn't making out as well as washoped.（朗文当代英语大辞典P1065）
There is not quite as much text as wasexpected.（The New Fowlers Modern English Usage2000第三版）
这里的as非常像关系代词引导限制性定语从句，text是先行词，as作主语。所以这个句子没问题。
你提的这个第一句我觉得不可以说是错的，好似我举的章振邦的书上的那个例子一样，只不过一般都不这么写，不太自然，一般写成以下的两种样子的比较多见：
a.The economic situation is as serious as it was expected to be.（as引导限制性定语从句，充当表语，没问题，先行词是serious）
b. The economic situation is as serious as expected.
举几个例子：
The figure of seventy-million pounds wastwice as big as expected.
The damage wasn't quite as bad as expected.
It was as bad as expected.
The level of competence among hospitalstaff was not as high as expected.
The meeting was longer than it was expectedto be.
Business was not as good as it was supposedto be.
多说两句：关于as的这种使用方法不太好理解，Swan的PEU中只不过说非常像关系代词，可以充当主语，宾语或表语。而国内的司树森教授就直接觉得它是关系代词（事实上不同，由于有时候不可以直接替换为真的的关系代词），详细情况请见司树森教授撰写的“当代英语疑难问题解析”一书。
