This Is Your Market on Drugs

Sales of antidepressants remain brisk in spite (or perhaps because) of the recession. Slate reminds us of a decade-old study suggesting that widespread use of mood-lightening drugs could fuel irrational exuberance on Wall Street. If Robert Shiller is right, and market fluctuations are signs of social epidemics, then a Prozac-assisted recovery doesn’t seem impossible, either. It would be an expensive stimulus — Americans already spend $9 billion every year on antidepressants. Maybe someone should start sending Wall Street placebos instead? [%comments]