This dissertation is motivated by two observations. The first one is that three decades after democratization and liberalization reforms, capital markets in Latin America remain underdeveloped. The second one is the considerable amount of state-related funds behind private equity (PE) investments, both in emerging and developed economies. Combining these two observations and using comparative case analysis to study the emergence of private equity markets, this dissertation proposes a shift in arguments about financial development and corporate governance reform: it emphasizes the role of state-related investors instead of just focusing on the institutional -- political and economic -- determinants of investment. This dissertation makes three main arguments. First, that private equity investors contribute to the development of financial systems by providing firms with a distinctive source of financing that has no bank-based substitutes. PE investors drive more institutional ownership and corporate governance structures, helping modernize business. Second, that state-related institutional investors play an important role in the emergence of domestic PE markets. Multilateral and domestic development financial institutions have an "incubating" role during the early stages of the PE industry, followed by the involvement of pension funds. And third, it advances a "quiet politics" explanation of the emergence of private equity. It emphasizes the public-private collaboration behind PE industry associations. These associations, in turn, help "co-create" the industry's regulatory framework, operating at the margins of partisan and legislative politics. Ultimately, this dissertation makes three broad theoretical contributions: (1) it introduces private equity into the development debate; (2) prompts a shift in the discussion on financial development from institutional explanations focused only on rules -- democracy and investor protections -- to actor-based arguments centered on the role of institutional investors, in particular pension funds; and (3) characterizes a novel model of "financial" industrial policymaking.

The present contribution joins the stream of research investigating the relationship between local financial development, economic growth, and entrepreneurship. Relevant contributions highlighted that the probability of an individual to start a new business is higher when he/she moves from the least financially developed region to the most financially developed one. Indeed, higher levels of local financial development allow for easier access to external funds, which are crucial for the growth of new businesses. In this entrepreneurial context, the need of financial resources is especially relevant for research spin-offs (ROSs), which require significant resources to transfer to the market their innovative technologies. This chapter deepens the role of local financial development on entrepreneurship and, in particular, on research spin-offs. Empirical evidence highlight that at the time of ROSs,Äô incubation, local financial development does not affect the performance of spin-offs, as they mainly rely on Universities and public contributions. Vice versa, when the RSOs enter the market, they are more in need of funds from the financial system, for which local financial development interestingly becomes strongly relevant to them, affecting corporate performance. Consequently, despite the internationalization of financial markets, policymakers should carefully encourage entrepreneurship through the development of local financial systems.

This pioneering work explores both the theory and practice of business and technology incubation over the past six decades as an approach to new venture creation and development. With a global scope, the Handbook examines key concepts, models, and mechanisms, providing a research-based analytical foundation from which to understand the emerging role of modern incubation tools in building entrepreneurship ecosystems for promoting targeted economic development.

Entrepreneurship is now unanimously considered a major engine for socio-economic development, mainly because it creates jobs and innovation. Governments around the world pay special attention to removing entrepreneurial barriers in order to support development via different policies, especially entrepreneurial finance. Developing, emerging and transition economies (DETEs) significantly differ from industrialized countries because of their specific conditions: institutions, infrastructure facilities, and bureaucratic procedures within the administrative system. Thus, firms and their entrepreneurs in and from DETEs may behave differently, particularly in terms of their financial strategies. Therefore, contextualizing is critical to better understand the relationship between entrepreneurial finance, innovation, and development in DETEs. This book provides a systematic and profound understanding of how finance, entrepreneurship, innovation, and their interactions contribute to economic development in DETEs, which cover a large number of countries in Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Africa. The book mainly includes empirical studies and is divided into four parts. Part A includes four chapters which adopt a multinational approach to examine different sources and types of finance for entrepreneurship and small business in different groups of countries classified as DETEs. Part B also includes four chapters and focuses on entrepreneurial finance in specific countries belonging to the DETEs. Part C goes beyond the business scope of entrepreneurial finance and includes three chapters concerned with the relationship between finance, women's entrepreneurship, and poverty. Part D includes three chapters focusing on the comparison within developing countries as well as between developing and developed countries. This essential and comprehensive resource will find an audience amongst academics, students, educators, and practitioners, as well as policymakers and regulators.