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<article article-type="research-article" dtd-version="1.3" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xml:lang="ru"><front><journal-meta><journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">rusjel</journal-id><journal-title-group><journal-title xml:lang="ru">Russian Journal of Economics and Law</journal-title><trans-title-group xml:lang="en"><trans-title>Russian Journal of Economics and Law</trans-title></trans-title-group></journal-title-group><issn pub-type="ppub">2782-2923</issn><publisher><publisher-name>"TCE "Taglimat"" Ltd.</publisher-name></publisher></journal-meta><article-meta><article-id custom-type="elpub" pub-id-type="custom">rusjel-2870</article-id><article-categories><subj-group subj-group-type="heading"><subject>Research Article</subject></subj-group><subj-group subj-group-type="section-heading" xml:lang="ru"><subject>ЭКОНОМИКА И УПРАВЛЕНИЕ НАРОДНЫМ ХОЗЯЙСТВОМ</subject></subj-group><subj-group subj-group-type="section-heading" xml:lang="en"><subject>ECONOMICS AND NATIONAL ECONOMY MANAGEMENT</subject></subj-group></article-categories><title-group><article-title>SHARE RETURNS DISTRIBUTION: EMPIRICAL OBSERVATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR OPTIONS PRICING</article-title><trans-title-group xml:lang="en"><trans-title></trans-title></trans-title-group></title-group><contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="yes"><name-alternatives><name name-style="eastern" xml:lang="ru"><surname>KRAMIN</surname><given-names>T.V.</given-names></name></name-alternatives><bio xml:lang="ru"><p>Doctor of Science (Economics), Professor</p></bio><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff-1"/></contrib><contrib contrib-type="author" corresp="yes"><name-alternatives><name name-style="eastern" xml:lang="ru"><surname>YOUNG</surname><given-names>S.D.</given-names></name></name-alternatives><bio xml:lang="ru"><p>Senior Vice President and Manading Director</p></bio><xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff-2"/></contrib></contrib-group><aff xml:lang="ru" id="aff-1"><institution>Institute of Economics, Management &amp; Law</institution><country>Russian Federation</country></aff><aff xml:lang="ru" id="aff-2"><institution>Evergreen Investments, Option Strategies Group</institution><country>Russian Federation</country></aff><pub-date pub-type="collection"><year>2009</year></pub-date><pub-date pub-type="epub"><day>06</day><month>07</month><year>2026</year></pub-date><volume>0</volume><issue>1</issue><fpage>48</fpage><lpage>60</lpage><permissions><copyright-statement>Copyright &amp;#x00A9; KRAMIN T., YOUNG S., 2026</copyright-statement><copyright-year>2026</copyright-year><copyright-holder xml:lang="ru">KRAMIN T., YOUNG S.</copyright-holder><copyright-holder xml:lang="en">KRAMIN T., YOUNG S.</copyright-holder><license xml:lang="ru" license-type="creative-commons-attribution" xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" xlink:type="simple"><license-p>Данная работа распространяется под лицензией Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.</license-p></license><license xml:lang="en" license-type="creative-commons-attribution" xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" xlink:type="simple"><license-p>This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.</license-p></license></permissions><self-uri xlink:href="https://www.rusjel.ru/jour/article/view/2870">https://www.rusjel.ru/jour/article/view/2870</self-uri><abstract><p>Underlying asset returns regularly depart from normal. In a Black-Scholes economy, asset prices are assumed lognormal and subsequently returns are normal. The literature regarding asset return behavior is extensive. In addition, the number of options pricing models, which take into account non-normality, discontinuities, and stochastic variables, are also extensive. These models are an effort at reconciling real world option prices with the assumptions in the Black-Scholes paradigm. This article contains a review of the literature regarding asset returns; alternative option pricing parameterizations, and recovering the implied risk-neutral distribution from listed options. Following this, theory takes precedence as a simple plain-vanilla option-pricing model, which incorporates the first-four moments of the risk-neutral density is explored. In the results section, S&amp;P 500 Index market daily log returns are explored and univariate properties lead to a rejection of the hypothesis of normality. Then, using the simple four-moment model and skewness and kurtosis values consistent with those recovered from listed options by numerous researchers we imply the risk neutral densities associated with actual option prices on the S&amp;P 500 Index. The implications are profound. It is very clear that the implied risk neutral densities are significantly different from the normal distribution which forms the basis for the Black-Scholes model.</p></abstract></article-meta></front><back><ref-list><title>References</title><ref id="cit1"><label>1</label><citation-alternatives><mixed-citation xml:lang="ru">Abken, P. and S. Nandi. 1996. «Options and Volatility». Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta - Economic Review, (December): 21-35.</mixed-citation><mixed-citation xml:lang="en">Abken, P. and S. Nandi. 1996. «Options and Volatility». 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