The paper introduces the main facets of the research project “persistence and change of neopatrimonialism in various non-OECD-regions”. Neopatrimonialism is a prominent concept trying to make sense of governance in various, particularly non-OECD, regions. An attempt is made to grasp informal institutions which are functioning next to or are fused with the codified and sanctioned formal rules of the bureaucratic state authority. The paper presents the three main dimensions of neopatrimonial rule: 1) power concentration in the hands of patrons, 2) provision of personal favors, and 3) particularistic use of state resources, and investigates its analytical value for comparing different world regions – Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. Secondly, the paper takes a closer look at the factors influencing persistence and change of neopatrimonialism. Political economy concepts indicate that high rents from enclave economies such as mining or oil extraction are responsible for thriving neopatrimonial relations. It presents first results from original field research in Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia (Zambia and Kenya, Venezuela and Argentina, Indonesia and the Philippines) conducted in the first half of 2009. Based on these results, tentative assessments on the neopatrimonialism concept and its applicability for comparing informal institutions in different world regions are drawn.