Merton Model

In 1973, Merton produced a model with a non-constant interest rate. He assumed that interest rates follow a special type of random process.

By taking into consideration the dynamic process of interest rate determination, and the correlation between the underlying price and the options price, this model provides an improvement over the Black-Scholes model. This model is generally used to value European options written on stocks.

Notation

       Theoretical value of a call

       Theoretical value of a put

       Underlying price

       Strike price

        Time to expiration in years

  Cumulative normal density function

       Volatility

      Volatility of an interest rate contract

    Interest rate

       Correlation between the underlying and interest rate contracts

The theoretical values for European calls and puts are:

Where: