The "Matthew effect" denotes the phenomenon that "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer" and can be observed in various different contexts where "rich" and "poor" can take different meanings.

富者更富，穷人更穷。

Biblical

The "Matthew effect" takes its name from a line spoken by "the Master" in Jesus' parable of the talents in the biblical Gospel of Matthew:

"For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath." (Matthew XXV:29, King James Version.)  

马太效应的名字来自于圣经《新约·马太福音》中的一则寓言。 
《圣经》中“马太福音”第二十五章由这么几句话：“凡有的，还要加给他叫他多余；没有的，连他所有的也要夺过来。”

Sociology

In sociology, "Matthew effect" was a term coined by Robert K. Merton to describe how, among other things, eminent scientists will often get more credit than a comparatively unknown researcher, even if their work is similar; it also means that credit will usually be given to researchers who are already famous: for example, a prize will almost always be awarded to the most senior researcher involved in a project, even if all the work was done by a graduate student.

1968年，美国科学史研究者罗伯特·莫顿用这句话概括了一种社会心理现象：“对已有相当声誉的科学家作出的科学贡献给予的荣誉越来越多，而对那些未出名的科学家则不承认他们的成绩。”莫顿将这种社会心理现象命名为“马太效应”。 

In education the term Matthew effect has been adopted by Keith Stanovich, a psychologist who has done extensive research on reading and language disabilities. Stanovich used the term to describe a phenomenon that has been observed in research on how new readers acquire the skills to read: Early success in acquiring reading skills usually leads to later successes in reading as the learner grows, while failing to learn to read before the third or fourth year of schooling may be indicative of life-long problems in learning new skills.

In social policy the term was introduced by Herman Deleeck. It refers to the phenomenon, widely observed across advanced welfare states, that the middle classes tend to be the main beneficiaries of social benefits and services, even if these are primarily targeted at the poor.