The Matthew Effect: How Advantage Begets Further Advantage

177 Pages·2010·1.558 MB·English

by  Daniel Rigney Ph.D.

the matthew effect

Daniel
Rigney
the
matthew
effect
how aDvantage
begets fuRtheR
aDvantage
columbia
univeRsity
PRess
new yoRk
Columbia University Press
Publishers Since 1893
New York Chichester, West Sussex
Copyright © 2010 Columbia University Press
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rigney, Daniel, 1949–
The Matthew effect : how advantage begets further advantage
/ Daniel Rigney.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-231-14948-8 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Social stratification. 2. Equality. 3. Opportunity—Social
aspects. I. Title.
HM821.R54 2010
305.5’12—dc22
2009021491
Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent
and durable acid-free paper.
This book was printed on paper with recycled content.
Printed in the United States of America
c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
References to Internet Web sites (URLs) were accurate at the time of
writing. Neither the author nor Columbia University Press is responsible
for URLs that may have expired or changed since the manuscript was
prepared.
contents
Preface  vii
1 what is the matthew effect? 1
The Origin of the Term 4
The Parable of the Monopoly Game 6
Absolute Versus Relative Matthew Effects 8
The Matthew Effect in Mertonian Theory 13
2 matthew effects in science
anD technology 25
Matthew Effects in Science 25
Matthew Effects in Technology 31
3 matthew effects in the economy 35
Economic Matthew Mechanisms 37
Circular Causation and the Matthew Effect:
Myrdal Meets Merton 46
4 matthew effects in Politics anD
Public Policy 53
Matthew Effects in Politics 53
Matthew Effects in Public Policy: The Case of Tax Law 66
vi contents
5 matthew effects in eDucation anD cultuRe 75
Matthew Effects in Education 75
The Accumulation of Cultural Capital 82
6 imPlications anD conclusions 87
The Matthew Effect: Natural Law or Social Construct? 87
Social Benefits and Costs of Matthew Effects 90
Egalitarian and Inegalitarian Traditions 93
Countervailing Forces 97
Conclusion: The Goose and the Golden Egg 104
aPPenDix: tRenDs in economic inequality 107
Is There Growing Economic Inequality in the United States? 107
Is There Growing Economic Inequality Around the World? 115
Notes  123
References  133
Index  151
PReface
This book seeks to offer the general reader a clear
and concise introduction to the Matthew effect, one of the least known
but most important principles in the social sciences. Matthew effects
are said to occur when social advantages lead to further advantages—
or disadvantages to further disadvantages—through time, creating
widening gaps between those who have more and those who have
less. It has been more than forty years since the eminent sociologist
Robert K. Merton of Columbia University coined the term to describe
circumstances in which the rich get richer and the poor get poorer,
as the saying goes. Matthew effects are not confined to the economic
sphere, however; they have been observed across a broad spectrum of
social institutions. Thus the principle is essential to understanding the
social dynamics of inequality in general.
In the years since Merton coined the term, considerable research
on Matthew effects has accumulated in fields ranging from sociology,
economics, and political science to educational psychology and even
biology. These widely scattered fragments of literature seem to point
toward a fundamental principle in the social sciences, and yet they
have never been brought together and presented as a coherent whole.
This book aims to organize these fragments of research and present
their major findings in a way that is readily accessible to social scien-
tists, policy makers, students, and citizens at large as we continue to
viii PReface
confront upward and downward spirals of inequality in the twenty-
first century.
As a nontechnical introduction, this book does not require a strong
quantitative background on the reader’s part. For those interested in
the more technical and mathematical aspects of Matthew effects, Di-
Prete and Eirich (2006) provide a useful review of the available litera-
ture and a good starting point for further research.
I gratefully acknowledge all the friends and colleagues who have
helped to make this book possible. My dean, Janet Dizinno of St.
Mary’s University, and my editor, Lauren Dockett of Columbia Uni-
versity Press, have supported the project consistently along the way.
I have gained valuable insights from the comments of Harriet Zuck-
erman, Joe Feagin, Brian Slattery, Richard Machalek, Bill Schweke,
Roy Robbins, and several anonymous reviewers. I am grateful to Ale-
jandro Parada for technical support. Mi esposa—the historian Alida
Metcalf—and our sons Matthew and Benjamin have sustained me
through this project with their laughter and love. They are my life
support system. Finally, I wish to pay tribute to two luminaries of the
past century, Robert Merton and Gunnar Myrdal, whose pathbreak-
ing work continues to inspire thought and scholarship. This book is
dedicated to their memories.
the matthew effect