Foreign Aid

Broadly speaking, foreign aid implies a transfer of resources from one country, referred to as the donor, for the benefit of another, called the recipient. This transfer can take place directly, through bilateral channels, or indirectly, through multilateral ones. The purpose of aid varies over space and time, ranging from military aid to humanitarian. In more strict definitions, the concept refers exclusively to official development aid, which should be distinguished from humanitarian or relief aid. The former aims at finding long-term solutions that allow recipient societies to meet and generate solutions to their needs, the latter at alleviating human suffering in urgent situations. Flows of resources aiming at generating development are of three types: (1) official development assistance (ODA), (2) foreign direct investment (FDI), and ...