The current state of higher education in Latin America is examined in discussion papers which attempt to identify the major problems in efficiency, finance, and equity in the area and offer policy choices for improving university performance and quality while maximizing society's return on its investment. The papers are organized as follows: (1) the institutional context which provides the boundaries for analysis and public policy debate; (2) efficiency in resource allocation within the higher education sector; (3) efficiency in resource allocation between higher education and other sectors; (4) equity in the distribution of access to and government subventions to higher education; (5) sources of finance for higher education (sections 2 through 5 focus on undergraduate instruction primarily in larger countries in Latin America); (6) issues in graduate education and research; and (7) a discussion of prescriptions for the improvement of equity and efficiency in Latin American higher education. Appendices include country-by-country breakdown of enrollments, higher education expenditures, and other statistics related to higher education that are indicative of specific countries. Contains 145 references. (GLR)