Silver prices and solar energy production.

The goal of this paper is to identify, for the first time, the role of solar production in driving silver prices. The empirical analysis makes use of the ARDL model and the combined cointegration. The results, spanning the period 1990-2016, document that stronger solar installed capacities, as well as higher gross electricity production from solar sources, lead to higher silver prices. The findings could be of great importance to silver suppliers and to energy policymakers and regulators, as well as to solar panel manufacturers.