The Center for the Economic Analysis of Risk (CEAR) at Georgia State University seeks to develop the topic of risk into a well-defined, inter-disciplinary area of study, research and policy. Risk is studied in many academic disciplines already, such as economics, finance, accounting, risk management and insurance, engineering, operations research, psychology, and even public health departments. In some cases the tools are similar, but not always, and often the research questions and applications differ markedly across these fields. CEAR will leverage the development of a dialogue between researchers and policy makers in these areas in an effort to arbitrage differences in knowledge across these areas. This activity will range over fundamental and abstract topics, immediate policy and business issues, and two-way communication between academics and practitioners. The overarching goal will be to foster rigor in the debate over policy towards risk.