Explaining Asset Pricing Puzzles Associated with the 1987 Market Crash

49 Pages Posted: 27 Jan 2010 Last revised: 1 Jul 2011

See all articles by Luca Benzoni

Luca Benzoni

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago - Research Department

Pierre Collin-Dufresne

Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; Swiss Finance Institute; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Robert S. Goldstein

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities - Carlson School of Management; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: June 7, 2010

Abstract

The 1987 market crash was associated with a dramatic and permanent steepening of the implied volatility curve for equity index options, despite minimal changes in aggregate consumption. We explain these events within a general equilibrium framework in which expected endowment growth and economic uncertainty are subject to rare jumps. The arrival of a jump triggers the updating of agents' beliefs about the likelihood of future jumps, which produces a market crash and a permanent shift in option prices. Consumption and dividends remain smooth, and the model is consistent with salient features of individual stock options, equity returns, and interest rates.

Keywords: Volatility Smile, Volatility Smirk, Implied Volatility, Option Pricing, Portfolio Insurance, Market Risk

JEL Classification: G12, G13, E10

Suggested Citation

Benzoni, Luca and Collin-Dufresne, Pierre and Goldstein, Robert S., Explaining Asset Pricing Puzzles Associated with the 1987 Market Crash (June 7, 2010). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1543467 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1543467

Luca Benzoni (Contact Author)

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago - Research Department ( email )

230 South LaSalle Street
Chicago, IL 60604
United States
312-322-8499 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://lbenzoni.frbchi.googlepages.com/

Pierre Collin-Dufresne

Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne ( email )

Quartier UNIL-Dorigny, Bâtiment Extranef, # 211
40, Bd du Pont-d'Arve
CH-1015 Lausanne, CH-6900
Switzerland

Swiss Finance Institute

c/o University of Geneva
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CH-1211 Geneva 4
Switzerland

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

Robert S. Goldstein

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities - Carlson School of Management ( email )

19th Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55455
United States
612-624-8581 (Phone)

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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