This paper discusses two aspects of the problem of determining and managing risk policies for low probability events. The public choice problem concerns the difficulty of defining acceptable societal risk when there is considerable individual disagreement about acceptable risk. The information processing problem addresses how individuals and organizations perceive and make decisions about low probability, catastrophic events. Both problems, and their interactions, impact on policy design and institutional performance for this class of problems. The paper discusses these impacts and their implications for developing and managing public policies.