Matthew effect

E846491

The Matthew effect is a sociological concept describing how individuals or groups who already possess advantages tend to accumulate more benefits over time, while those with fewer resources fall further behind.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Statements Referenced by

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf cumulative advantage process
social phenomenon
sociological concept
appliesInContext citation patterns
distribution of research funding
educational achievement
labor markets
scientific recognition
social status attainment
wealth accumulation
appliesTo countries
groups
individuals
institutions
organizations
basedOn path dependence
positive feedback mechanisms
self-reinforcing processes
characterizedBy cumulative advantage
cumulative disadvantage
increasing inequality over time
poor-get-poorer dynamics
rich-get-richer dynamics
describes process where initial advantages lead to further gains
process where initial disadvantages lead to further losses
explains persistence of social inequality
skewed distributions of rewards
why early success leads to disproportionate later success
fieldOfUse bibliometrics
economics
education
science studies
social stratification research
sociology
hasAlternativeName Matthew effect of accumulated advantage NERFINISHED
cumulative advantage
hasImplication early advantages can have long-term consequences
policy interventions may need to counter cumulative processes
small initial differences can lead to large outcome gaps
hasOrigin biblical Gospel of Matthew NERFINISHED
nameRefersTo verse Matthew 25:29
popularizedBy Robert K. Merton NERFINISHED
popularizedIn 1968
popularizedInWork "The Matthew Effect in Science" NERFINISHED
relatedTo Pareto principle NERFINISHED
network effects
path dependence in social systems
preferential attachment
winner-take-all markets

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Robert K. Merton coinedTerm Matthew effect
Outliers notableConcept Matthew effect