A generalization of the Barone-Adesi and Whaley approach for the analytic approximation of American options

This article introduces a general quadratic approximation scheme for pricing American options based on stochastic volatility and double jump processes. This quadratic approximation scheme is a generalization of the Barone-Adesi and Whaley approach and nests several option models. Numerical results show that this quadratic approximation scheme is efficient and useful in pricing American options. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.