The Pricing of Stock Index Options in a General Equilibrium Model

This paper analyzes the pricing of stock index options in a simple general equilibrium model. In this model, the volatility of the stock index and the spot rate of interest are functions of a stochastic variable. The paper investigates the biases that arise when using the Black-Scholes model with the assumed volatility and interest rate dynamics. It is shown that the model can, in principle, explain the biases observed in empirical work on stock index options.