The jump-risk premia implicit in options: evidence from an integrated time-series study

This paper examines the joint time series of the S&P 500 index and near-the-money short-dated option prices with an arbitrage-free model, capturing both stochastic volatility and jumps. Jump-risk premia Uncovered from the joint data respond quickly to market volatility, becoming more prominent during volatile markets. This form of jump-risk premia is important not only in reconciling the dynamics implied by the joint data, but also in explaining the volatility "smirks" of cross-sectional options data. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.