Mathematical Finance

Catalog description

The course is an introduction to both the economics and the mathematics of finance. Concentrating on the probabilistic theory of continuous arbitrage pricing of financial derivatives, it provides full treatment of Black-Scholes option pricing and its extensions to the case of stochastic volatility and VIX derivatives. More generally, the techniques of change of measure and risk-neutralization are extensively studied, including in the context of fixed-income securities. Finally, implications for financial econometrics (stochastic volatility processes, models of stochastic discount factors) are briefly discussed.