  In this research, the contribution of a highly productive minority of
scientists to the national Polish research output over the past three decades
(1992-2021) is explored. Four classes of top performers (the upper 1%, 3%, 5%,
and 10%) are examined using four productivity measurements. A temporal
stability of productivity patterns is found: the upper 1% of scientists, on
average, account for 10% of the national output, and the upper 10% account for
almost 50% of total output, with significant disciplinary variations. The 1/10
and the 10/50 rules consistently apply across the three decades studied. The
Relative Presence Index (RPI) we constructed shows that men are
over-represented in all top performers classes. Top performers are studied
longitudinally through their detailed publishing histories, with micro-data
coming from the raw Scopus dataset. Econometric models identify the three most
important predictors changing the odds ratio estimates of membership in top
performance classes: gender, academic age, and publishing patterns. The
downward trend in fixed effects over successive six-year periods indicates
increasing competition in academia. A large population of internationally
visible Polish scientists (N=152,043) with their 587,558 articles is studied.
Implications for high productivity studies are shown, and limitations are
discussed.
