Most developing countries have adopted policies that affect agricultural prices, either directly or indirectly through industrial protection and macroeconomic policies. The book, representing the first of five volumes which summarize the results of the World Bank research project on agricultural policy, examines its effects on Latin American countries. It aims to provide systematic estimates of the degree of price discrimination against agriculture within countries like Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Brazil and the Dominican Republic and how such discrimination has changed over the years. The effects of such policy on key variables like foreign exchange earnings, agricultural output and income distribution are assessed and an attempt is made at understanding the motivations of policy makers and political and economic factors behind agricultural intervention. The countries included have been deliberately chosen from a range of low- and middle-income economies and diverse geographic regions. Some of them represent major exporters of agricultural produce while other are importers.