BCG Henderson Institute

header-logo
footer-logo
Sign In
idea explorer
SUBSCRIBE

LOAD MORE

The Land Trap with Mike Bird

"Land is often a zero-sum asset. Unlike all the other things in the world that we place a huge amount of value on, land cannot be moved, is in relatively fixed supply, and doesn’t decay. As a result, the rising value of land accrues to a relatively small, fortunate group of people and leaves relatively little for everyone else."

In The Land Trap: A New History of the World’s Oldest Asset, Mike Bird shows why land remains the ultimate currency of power.

Bird is the Wall Street editor at The Economist, where he leads coverage across the American financial industry and cohosts the magazine’s flagship podcast Money Talks. In his new book, he presents a bold new framework explaining how land exerts influence over the modern world, shaping housing, banking, and geopolitics.

In his conversation with Nikolaus Lang, global leader of the BCG Henderson Institute, Bird discusses the history of land usage and ownership, how land is related to modern economic crises, and different governance models for land.

Key topics discussed: 

[01:01] What makes land unique, and why is it a trap?
[04:58] The history of land ownership
[11:38] The relation between land and economic crises
[16:00] The role of “superstar cities”
[19:08] How land could be governed
[23:36] Business implications of land

Interviewed by
Listen more