Stochastic equity volatility related to the leverage effect: I Equity volatility behaviour

We propose a general framework to model equity volatility for a firm financed by equity and additional nonequity sources of funds. The stochastic nature of equity volatility is endogenous, and comes from the impact of a change in the value of the firm's assets on the financial leverage. We first present the basic model, which is an extension of the Black-Scholes model, to value corporate securities. Second, we show for the first time in the option literature, that instantaneous equity volatility is a solution of a partial differential equation similar to Black-Scholes', although it is non-linear and in general does not have any analytical solution. However, analytical approximations for equity volatility are proposed for different capital structures: (1) equity and debt, (2) equity and warrants, and (3) equity, debt and warrants. They are shown to be very accurate. © 1994, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. All rights reserved.