Transferring resources from developed to less developed countries. Bilateral aid is from one donor to a recipient country, while multilateral aid comes from a group of countries. Emergency aid is short-term, generally given in response to disasters: ‘windfalls in relief and reconstruction aid can also increase the risk of (perceived) fraud, corruption, mismanagement and dispossession by the government and its cronies, aggravating the plight of the most vulnerable’ (LeBillon and Waizenegger (2007) TIBG 32, 3). Structural aid is given for long-term development; see Seguiti (2003) Public Budget. & Finance 23, 2 on EU structural aid. A donor of tied aid can transfer resources more cheaply as its aid is tied to its own exports (Kemp (2005) Pacif. Econ. Rev. 10, 3).
Bebbington (2004) PHG 28, 6 criticizes NGOs: ‘their geographies of intervention do not reflect the geographies of poverty and livelihood in the Andes; and their strategies of intervention do not respond to the economic and spatial dynamics of poor people’s livelihoods…they do less and less to address the deeper processes of…development that produce poverty and inequality of opportunity.’ See Swain (2006) TIBG 31, 2 on aid and market principles ‘designed by the government of the United States and the international financial institutions…and implemented by them in various ways, for the more vulnerable societies, often as stringent structural adjustment programs’ (N. Chomsky 1999).
The WTO-sponsored Aid for Trade programme assists developing countries in expanding their trade to help growth and reduce poverty, since many developing countries face internal constraints such as a lack of productive capacity, poor infrastructure, inefficient customs management, excessive red tape, and difficulties to meet technical standards in high-value export markets. This has a negative impact on their ability to trade and on the competitiveness of their exports. The Aid for Trade initiative can include support for building new transport, energy, or telecommunications infrastructure, investments in agriculture, fisheries, and services, as well as assistance in managing any balance of payments shortfalls due to changes in the world trading environment.
http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/development/aid-for-trade/index_en.htm European Commission’s Aid for Trade site.