Hamish Low is the James Meade Professor of Economics at the University of Oxford, a Fellow of Nuffield College and a Research Fellow at the Institute for Fiscal Studies. The focus of his research agenda is on two set of issues: first, what sort of risks do individuals face over their life-times and over the business cycle. Second, to what extent can individuals insure against these risks, both through their private decisions over saving and labour supply, and through government provided social