I'm reading Options Markets by Cox and Rubinstein, and there's a section entitled Effects on Other Financial Markets. The section is less than a page long, and while it presents some findings of studies commissioned by the CBOE, that the options markets have "helped improve the efficiency and fairness of the stock market itself," the section ends by saying, "However, until these findings have been confirmed by investigators wholly independent of Exchange support, they cannot be viewed as definitive."
This book was published in 1985. Since that time, have any independent investigators attempted to answer this question?
I've often wondered how things like open interest and other "sentiment indicators" are perceived by market professionals. Do certain conditions in options markets influence professionals to trade in certain products or directions?