The article discusses how it is good to be near a trading partner—especially a rich trading partner—for two reasons: a) it is cheaper to trade with a close trading partner than one that is far away and b) a rich trading partner offers more opportunities for trade than a poor one. As the article points out, Germany benefits as the neighboring country, France, becomes wealthier. Consistent with this argument, the states on the West Coast of the United States have seen rapid economic growth asEast Asia has experienced rapid economic growth.2-In contrast, states along the East Coast should see slow economic growth and possibly even a decline as the economy ofEurope stagnates.