Varieties of capitalism and patient capital in developing and emerging economies: evidence from Kenya

Patient capital (PC) has gained traction in discussions about how finance can better serve society. While PC is a central concept in comparative political economy (CPE), this literature has focused on advanced economies in conceptualizing PC and we know little about the conditions under which PC leads to positive outcomes. We extend the conceptualization of PC to enhance its relevance for developing and emerging economies (DEEs) and examine who provides it, when and how it leads to improvements in employment studying the case of Kenya. We find that the PC landscape in DEEs differs from the one in advanced economies and that institutions shape the extent to which capital is patient and has a positive impact on employment. Our analysis contributes to filling a gap in CPE on the role of PC in DEEs and speaks to broader debates about how to enhance the contribution of finance to society.