The Matthew Effect is Merton's term for the pattern by which initial advantage builds into further advantage, as the saying goes, to those who have, more shall be given. 1Originally applied to individual scientists, it now operates across journals and institutions, producing paths for well-resourced and under-resourced journals over time (Figure 1).Reputation builds through impact metrics and citation networks.Prestigious journals attract higher-quality submissions, receive more citations, and further elevate their status.In contrast, independent or university-based journals, often equal in rigor but lacking commercial backing, struggle to sustain operations and visibility.This asymmetry transforms academic publishing into a highly concentrated market dominated by a handful of large publishers.Research from high-income, English-speaking countries receives more citations than comparable work from other nations, reflecting structural advantage rather than content differences. 2This citation bias deepens disparities between scientific communities.Journals emerging from public universities or regional networks, many operating under diamond open-access models which charge neither authors nor readers, are vital but fragile. 3Their sustainability depends on volunteer labour and minimal budgets, leaving them vulnerable to the pressures of global competition.
Korkmaz et al. (Mon,) studied this question.