On Theories of Unemployment By ROBERT M. SOLOW* There is a long-standing tension in eco-nomics between belief in the advantages of the market mechanism and awareness of its imperfections. 'Ever since Adam Smith, economists have been distinguished from lesser mortals by their understanding of and-I think one has to say-their admiration Journal of Quantitative Criminology, Vol. 16, No. 4, 2000 Unemployment, Economic Theory, and Property Crime: A Note on Measurement Mitchell B. Chamlin1,3 and John K. Cochran2 Drawing on rational choice theory, this study considers how best to measure unemployment within the context of the unemployment-property crime relation-ship. The full employment of labour has been a key economic objective ever since the mass unemployment experienced in the 1930s. Clearly, it is not possible to give a simple numerical definition of full employment, other than to say the unemployment rate should be as low as is achievable, and the employment rate as high as is achievable.