Matthew Effect, Essay Example

The concept that Matthew effect or accumulated advantage advance some claims to the effect that the most successful people have been favored by social advantage along with opportunities. Access to one opportunity opens the way to even more special opportunities that consequently trigger success. This scenario has been evident in the fields of sport, education and socioeconomics, the family, arts, in the workplace, among others. Success has therefore been attributed to accumulative advantage by the socialists. For example, the socioeconomically well up individuals have greater opportunities of accessing huge tax breaks while best students can access the best coaching as well as practice (Gladwell, 114-116).

The concept of accumulated advantage or the Mathew effect leads to richer people becoming even richer while the poor becomes poorer overtime.

The Matthew effect has its foundation on the Bible in Matthew 25:29 that suggests that, “For unto every one that posses shall be given, and he shall accumulate plenty: but from him that posses not shall be taken away even the little that he hath”.

In contemporary life, this phenomenon is practically applicable to all. The best placed companies in business have a competitive advantage that are attributed to such issues as economies of scale, access to business permits, the use of proprietary technology and easy access to raw materials.

In education, Mathew effect relates to the early acquisition of skills such as reading abilities as having significant effects in the future opportunities of success. The children who start by failing in reading will develop a tendency of reading less as compared to the students who start with successful reading skills. The difficulties developed in the first stages affects performance in other subjects thus making them to remain behind in terms of performance in their school life.

Works cited

Gladwell, Malcolm Outliers: The Story of Success 1^st Ed. Little, Brown and Company, 2008-11-18).