I use a new technique to derive a closed-form solution for the price of a European call option on an asset with stochastic volatility. The model allows arbitrary correlation between volatility and spotasset returns. I introduce stochastic interest rates and show how to apply the model to bond options and foreign currency options. Simulations show that correlation between volatility and the spot asset’s price is important for explaining return skewness and strike-price biases in the Black-Scholes (1973) model. The solution technique is based on characteristic functions and can be applied to other problems. Many plaudits have been aptly used to describe Black and Scholes ’ (1973) contribution to option pricing theory. Despite subsequent development of option theory, the original Black-Scholes formula for a European call option remains the most successful and widely used application. This formula is particularly useful because it relates the distribution of spot returns I thank Hans Knoch for computational assistance. I am grateful for the suggestions of Hyeng Keun (the referee) and for comments by participants

This paper develops a closed-form option pricing formula for a spot asset whose variance follows a GARCH process. The model allows for correlation between returns of the spot asset and variance and also admits multiple lags in the dynamics of the GARCH process. The single-factor (one-lag) version of this model contains Heston’s (1993) stochastic volatility model as a diffusion limit and therefore unifies the discrete-time GARCH and continuous-time stochastic volatility literature of option pricing. The new model provides the first readily computed option formula for a random volatility model in which current volatility is easily estimated from historical asset prices observed at discrete intervals. Empirical analysis on S&P 500 index options shows the single-factor version of the GARCH model to be a substantial improvement over the Black-Scholes (1973) model. The GARCH model continues to substantially outperform the Black-Scholes model even when the Black-Scholes model is updated every period and uses implied volatilities from option prices, while the parameters of the GARCH model are held constant and volatility is filtered from the history of asset prices. The improvement is due largely to the ability of the GARCH model to describe the correlation of volatility with spot returns. This allows the GARCH model to capture strike-price biases in the Black-Scholes model that give rise to the skew in implied volatilities in the index options market.

This paper provides an empirical analysis of the role of jumps in continuous-time models of the short rate. Statistically, if jumps are present di¤usion models are misspeci…ed and I develop a test to detect jump-induced misspeci…cation. After …nding evidence for jumps, I introduce a nonparametric jump-di¤usion model and develop an estimation methodology. The results point toward a dominant statistical role for jumps in determining the dynamics of the short rate relative to di¤usive components. Estimates of jump times and sizes indicate that jumps serve an interesting economic purpose: they provide a main conduit for information about the macroeconomy to enter the term structure. Finally, I investigate the pricing implications of jumps. While jumps do not appear to have a large impact on the cross-section of bond prices, they do have important implications for interest rate derivatives.

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