外援(foreign aid)
为帮助外国及其人民，而把资金、货物或服务作国际性的转移。官方提供的外援主要有两种方式︰资本转移以及技术协助与训练。民间援助和军事援助同样也是一种极重要的援助。以提供外援作为国家政策工具的作法可追溯至18世纪，当时腓特烈大帝以资金拢络某些同盟国，以便得到他们的军事支援和战斗力的保证。第一次世界大战时，美国提供钜额贷款给欧洲盟国，但在经济大萧条初期，由於欧洲无力偿还而形同赠与。有了这次经验後，第二次世界大战期间美国对盟国改以「租借」的方式提供重要装备和补给品，而盟国则以向美国的海外驻军提供装备和补给作为回报。联合国善後救济总署（UNRRA）成立後，使「外援如同救济」的老旧观念转变成「外援为政策的制度化要素」的新观念，提供他国大部分资金的富有国家，已开始将官方进行的国际性援助视为战後重建的要素。国际组织虽然为受战争蹂躏的国家及新独立的殖民地提供援助，但支援国很少是动机直率或完全利他的。在某些情况下，援助反而剥削和损害了接受援助的国家，例如支援国通常会要求受援国购买支援国的产品。亦请参阅International Bank for Reconstruction and Development、International Monetary Fund、Marshall Plan。
English version：
foreign aid
Transfer of capital, goods, or services from a donor country to a recipient country. Foreign aid may be given in the form of either cash or technical assistance, for either civilian or military purposes. Its use in the modern era began in the 18th century when Prussia subsidized some of its allies. After World War II, foreign aid developed from a subsidy into a more sophisticated instrument of foreign policy, and the U.N. Relief and Rehabilitation Administration showed that rich nations were beginning to view official international aid as an essential element of postwar reconstruction. International organizations were created to provide aid to war-ravaged countries and newly freed colonies. Donor countries often attach conditions to their aid, including the requirement to buy goods from the donor country. See also International Monetary Fund, Marshall Plan, World Bank.