He is capable of increasing the satisfaction of the people, the profits of traders and the wealth of nations. People would settle for an influx of new products, which may not be native to their regions. Trader profits can potentially increase with the ability to buy a good where it is in surplus and sell it in an area where it is in short supply and sell it for a greater profit. However, this could only be successful if the trader takes into account the cost of transportation and all other costs that may arise from moving goods from one region to another. A nation's wealth can increase with the export of abundant goods and resources. This also allowed countries to import the goods they wanted as well. As we know today, a nation that exports more goods than it imports will have a growing economy. Khaldun was aware of all of these ideas as well as a key to economics known as “opportunity cost.” Foreign trade provided an incentive to devote a nation's labor to the goods and resources it had available, instead of leaving part of the workforce to work on goods and services that were inefficient for the country.