Merton Miller, the late Nobel prize-winning economist, spent a lifetime championing the importance of free markets and the value of futures to the financial system and the broader economy. One of his defining moments came after the stock market crash of 1987, when he challenged the many public voices who sought to blame the Chicago futures markets for the crash. He chaired the CME’s special academic panel that analyzed the crash and determined that the exchange’s stock index futures in fact had saved the market system by providing liquidity at a time when securities markets were closed.
