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Skill, status and the Matthew effect: a theoretical framework

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  • Mikael Bask

    (Uppsala University)

Abstract

To gain a deeper understanding of the Matthew effect in academic recognition among researchers, three social influence models of status hierarchies in the form of agent-based models are presented, where the positivity of the Lyapunov characteristic exponent is the quantitative operationalization of the Matthew effect. We find that the Matthew effect in status attribution is a generic property of the social influence model where skills depend on status (28.1% of all examined parameterizations) twice as often as in the model with constant skills (14.1%) and that the Matthew effect is a generic property of the model where skills depend on previous skills (43.0%) trice as often as in the model with constant skills. Hence, if one argues in favor of a meritocratic system in which research grants are awarded based on researchers’ skills rather than their status in the scientific community, and if grant-providing bodies also adhere to this principle, there is a higher probability of observing the Matthew effect in academic recognition among researchers. Employing the Lyapunov characteristic exponent to investigate the presence of the Matthew effect in a theoretical model is novel in the literature.

Suggested Citation

  • Mikael Bask, 2024. "Skill, status and the Matthew effect: a theoretical framework," Journal of Computational Social Science, Springer, vol. 7(3), pages 2221-2253, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jcsosc:v:7:y:2024:i:3:d:10.1007_s42001-024-00298-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s42001-024-00298-z
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