Have you ever wondered why some people seem to go from strength to strength in life while some others not only tend to get stuck in a rut, but actually regress over time? It is not merely ‘bad luck’ or ‘some people just do not have it in them’. It is a manifestation of what sociologists call the Matthew Effect. What is it? The Matthew Effect is a sociological concept that says that people who start out in life with an advantage, no matter how small it is, continue to benefit from it throughout their life while those who start out with a disadvantage, no matter how minor it is, continue to suffer the consequences throughout their life.