The main objective of the work is to present the bibliographic reference of studies on external financial assistance. In order to achieve this objective, empirical studies were reviewed, which are grouped according to the issue addressed. The applied research methods are induction and deduction, analysis and synthesis. The authors' contribution resides in the creation of the bibliographic reference and the identification of trends in the study of external financial assistance. The formulated conclusions show both the effectiveness of external financial aid and the problems faced by donor and recipient states.