To foster a deeper
understanding of the mechanisms behind inequality in society, it is crucial to
work with well-defined concepts associated with such mechanisms. The aim of
this paper is to define cumulative (dis)advantage and the Matthew effect.
We
argue that cumulative (dis)advantage is an intra-individual micro-level
phenomenon, that the Matthew effect is an inter-individual macro-level
phenomenon and that an appropriate measure of the Matthew effect focuses on the
mechanism or dynamic process that generates inequality. The Matthew mechanism
is, therefore, a better name for the phenomenon, where we provide a novel
measure of the mechanism, including a proof-of-principle analysis using
disposable personal income data.
Finally, because socio-economic theory should
be able to explain cumulative (dis)advantage and the Matthew mechanism when
they are detected in data, we discuss the types of models that may explain the
phenomena. We argue that interactions-based models in the literature traditions
of analytical sociology and statistical mechanics serve this purpose.
Full article
at: http://goo.gl/6rbqI2
By:
Miia Bask
Norwegian Social Research
(NOVA), Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Oslo, Norway
Mikael Bask
Department of Economics, Uppsala
University, Uppsala, Sweden
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