We show that microstructure biases in the estimation of expected option returns and risk premia are large, in some cases over 50 basis points per day. We propose a new method that corrects for these biases. We then apply our method to real data and produce three main findings. First, the...

We analyze the volatility risk premium by applying a modified two-pass Fama-MacBeth procedure to the returns of a large cross section of the returns of options on individual equities. Our results provide strong evidence of a volatility risk premium that is increasing in the level of overall...

The stylized fact that volatility is not priced in individual equity options does not withstand scrutiny. We show, first, that the average return of heavily traded deep out-of-the-money call options on stocks is -116 basis points per day. Second, Fama- MacBeth estimates of the volatility risk...