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Regulation With Placebo Effects, Anup Malani

Anup Malani

There is a growing body of empirical evidence supporting the existence of placebo effects in medical contexts and is suggestive of nontrivial placebo effects in non-medical contexts. This paper reviews the literature on placebo effects, examines the implications for four fields of law (drug approval, informed consent law, consumer protection law, and torts) and suggests future areas for research on placebo effects. Specifically, it make the case for altering the drug approval process to account for, if not credit, placebo effects. It suggests allowing evidence of placebo effects as a defense in cases alleging violations of informed consent or false …