Merton Miller and Modern Finance

Abstract

In this keynote address to the 2000 Financial Management Association Meetings, I consider Merton Miller's contributions to the field of finance. I argue that his most important contribution is to have made arbitrage arguments the cornerstone of modern finance. The arbitrage proof of Proposition I introduced a new standard in finance, namely that any result the finance profession takes seriously must have the critical property that it cannot be undermined by clever arbitrageurs. I show how arbitrage is a constant theme in Merton Miller's career from his work in corporate finance to his analyses of financial innovation, financial crashes, and crises.