This concept was first put forward by sociologist Robert. Merton, and its name comes from a sentence in the Bible: "If you have it, give it to him as superfluous;" If you don't have it, even what he has will be taken away. "
Matthew effect is widely used in education, scientific research, sports, business and other fields. For example, in academic circles, well-known scholars usually get more research funds, more opportunities to publish papers and more students, which makes it easier to get more achievements and more opportunities and resources. On the other hand, it is difficult for unknown scholars to obtain these opportunities and resources, so it is difficult to succeed.
Introduction of Matthew effect in economics;
"Matthew effect" has been frequently mentioned by economists for more than ten years, and economists use it to remind policy makers to avoid the excessive gap between the rich and the poor. This word is borrowed by economists, which reflects the phenomenon of unfair income distribution in economics that the poor are getting poorer and poorer, the rich are getting richer and richer, and the winner takes all. Matthew effect reveals a growth demand principle of individual and enterprise resources, which is related to individual success and happiness, so it is an important law affecting enterprise development and individual success.
Stanovic used the word "Matthew effect" to describe this phenomenon, that is, successfully acquiring reading ability in the early stage usually leads to the success of adult learners, while failing to acquire reading ability in the first three or four years may lead to long-term difficulties in learning different new skills.
Children's backwardness in reading will also increase the gap with their peers. Later, when students need to "learn from reading" (in which they then learn to read), their reading difficulties will further lead to problems in learning most other subjects. In this way, their knowledge and ability will gradually decline, and they will fall further behind in their studies, and the decline will be higher than that of their peers.