The Black–Scholes /ˌblæk ˈʃoʊlz/[1] or Black–Scholes–Merton model is a mathematical model of a financial market containing certain derivative investment instruments. From the model, one can deduce the Black–Scholes formula, which gives a theoretical estimate of the price of European-style options. The formula led to a boom in options trading and legitimised scientifically the activities of the Chicago Board Options Exchange and other options markets around the world.[2] lt is widely used, although often with adjustments and corrections, by options market participants.[3]:751 Many empirical tests have shown that the Black–Scholes price is "fairly close" to the observed prices, although there are well-known discrepancies such as the "option smile".[3]:770–771
The Black–Scholes was first published by Fischer Black and Myron Scholes in their 1973 paper, "The Pricing of Options and Corporate Liabilities", published in the Journal of Political Economy. They derived a stochastic partial differential equation, now called the Black–Scholes equation, which estimates the price of the option over time. The key idea behind the model is to hedge the option by buying and selling the underlying asset in just the right way, and consequently "eliminate risk". This hedge is called delta hedging and is the basis of more complicated hedging strategies such as those engaged in by investment banks and hedge funds. The hedge implies that there is a unique price for the option and this is given by the Black–Scholes formula.
Robert C. Merton was the first to publish a paper expanding the mathematical understanding of the options pricing model, and coined the term Black–Scholes options pricing model. Merton and Scholes received the 1997 Nobel Prize in Economics (The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel) for their work. Though ineligible for the prize because