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Journal of Financial Economics Vol. 121 No. 1 2016

Does variance risk have two prices? Evidence from the equity and option markets

Laurent Barras1; Aytek Malkhozov2

1 McGill University · 2 Bank for International Settlements

open access

Abstract

We formally compare two versions of the market variance risk premium (VRP) measured in the equity and option markets. Both VRPs follow common patterns and respond similarly to changes in volatility and economic conditions. However, we reject the null hypothesis that they are identical and find that their difference is strongly related to measures of the financial standing of intermediaries. These results shed new light on the information content of the VRP, suggest the presence of market frictions between the two markets, and are consistent with the key role played by intermediaries in setting option prices.

DOI
10.1016/j.jfineco.2016.02.014
Volume
121
Issue
1
Pages
79-92
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib openalex crossref

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