What is meant by 50 kHz (i.e. narrow vs. wide) receiver selectivity?
This does not pertain to the comm selector channel spacing.
With the evolution and growth of airborne travel and the necessity for more usable frequencies in the VHF communications spectrum, the "channel" spacing became smaller. To avoid interference between channels the bandwidth of the RF stages was decreased from 50khz to 25khz. In doing so, another problem was introduced. If the ground transmitter or the air to air transmitter was not capable of tighter frequency tolerances, it was possible the 25khz RF selectivity would not allow the receive signal to pass and the aircraft crew could miss critical voice communications.
Due to the presence of older, outdated equipment in some countries, some manufacturers (namely Bendix/King and Collins) produced VHF comm radios with the 50khz receiver selectivity. With the recent mandates and technological advancements in Europe and South America, the requirements for the 50khz versions has diminished. If an operator were to use a 50khz version radio in the position of a 25khz, they would potentially have channel crossover and or an increase in background noise.