We study the evolution of super star firms in the U.S. economy over the past 60 years. Contrary to common wisdom, super stars firms have not become larger, have not become more productive, and the contribution of star firms to aggregate U.S. productivity growth has fallen by more than one third since 2000.
Fading StarsGermán Gutiérrez and Thomas PhilipponNBER Working Paper No. 25529February 2019JEL No. D2,E22,E24,F6,G3,L1,O3,O4