The Land Trap

One of those books that changes the way you see the world. Gripping, urgent, important. If you want to understand the ways we are all being shaped by the ground beneath our feet, you need to read The Land Trap. – ED CONWAY author of Sunday Times bestseller Material WorldThis wonderful book is as welcome as it is overdue. Land values are a problem hiding in plain sight; something visibly problematic and unpleasant where economists and commentators have simply chosen to look the other way. The Land Trap shines a much-needed light on this essential topic. – RORY SUTHERLAND Vice Chairman of Ogilvy and author of AlchemyThe Land Trap looks at history, society and finance from an unusual but essential perspective. Ranging from colonial America to modern China, Mike Bird identifies the toxic blend of land and speculation which has repeatedly laid financial systems low. This is a deftly written tale of ignored prophets, well-meaning reformers, self-interested politicians and greedy landlords that will interest anyone who has looked at a city skyline and wondered why it looks the way it does. – LEWIS BASTON author of Borderlines

Mike Bird is Asia business and finance editor for The Economist, writing about financial markets, economic development and major corporations across the continent. He is based in Singapore, and is one of the presenters of The Economist’s premier financial podcast, Money Talks.

He was previously a financial columnist and market reporter at the Wall Street Journal, based in London and Hong Kong. In 2016 he won the Harold Wincott Award for young financial journalist of the year and in 2020 was a part of the Wall Street Journal’s team that won the Human Rights Press Award for the paper’s coverage of the Hong Kong protest movement the previous year. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society. Before becoming a journalist, he studied history and politics at the University of Exeter in the UK.