Disaggregated import-demand elasticity estimates based on import unit-value indexes are used in virtually all trade policy simulation models. However, unit-value indexes have been criticized especially by Irving B. Kravis and Robert E. Lipsey (1974). To examine the effect of using unit-value indexes on estimates of disaggregated import-demand elasticities, this paper compares regression results using unit-value indexes with results using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics import-price indexes for several detailed trade categories based on quarterly data for 1978-88. Results show that using unit-value indexes does not greatly affect estimated import-demand elasticities.

The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA) represents an attempt to use labor market regulation to control illegal migration into the United States by imposing fines on employers who hire unauthorized workers. Sanctions lower wages directly because they act as a tax on hiring additional workers. In addition, IRCA legalized many longtime illegal aliens. Legalization affects wages by changing the relative supply of authorized and unauthorized workers. This study estimates IRCA's impact on wages of manufacturing production workers in metropolitan areas and finds small but statistically significant effects: sanctions lower wages, while legalization raises them.