This the generalized version of the superstar firm dilemma. Within-industry dispersion of productivity has been rising secularly since at least 1987. This is the secret motor that is generating increasingly polarized outcomes for firms and their workers.👀

Not only has the location parameter shifted to the right, the scale parameter is now greater, so that industries have become more differentiated in this regard — some are considerably more polarized than most. 👀

@policytensor The internet / global finance is the reason would be my guess. Networks allow for network effects.