Cumulative advantage is a double-edge sword for cooperation

¹ School of Statistics and Mathematics, Yunnan University of Finance and Economics - Kunming 650221, China
² Interdisciplinary Research Institute of data science, Shanghai Lixin University of Accounting and Finance Shanghai 201209, China
³ Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Maribor - Koroška cesta 160, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia
⁴ Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, China Medical University Taichung 404332, Taiwan
⁵ Alma Mater Europaea - Slovenska ulica 17, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia
⁶ Complexity Science Hub Vienna - Josefstädterstraße 39, 1080 Vienna, Austria
⁷ Department of Physics, Kyung Hee University - 26 Kyungheedae-ro, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea

^(a) E-mail: matjaz.perc@gmail.com (corresponding author)

Received: 7 March 2023
Accepted: 27 March 2023

Abstract

The Matthew effect emphasizes the influence of early advantage on shaping long-term development by amplifying it over time, and its implications for public cooperation are yet to be fully understood. In this letter, we propose and study a spatial public goods game driven by cumulative advantage, where players who achieve high payoffs in a given round receive greater allocations in the next. The simulation results show that the Matthew effect leads to an irreversible polarization of individual wealth on the network. Such polarization makes moderate cooperation levels more prevalent, which helps to explain the widespread coexistence of prosocial and antisocial behavior. Meanwhile, heterogeneous networks may restrict the polarization of wealth, but also inhibit the evolution of cooperation, requiring a reconsideration of the commonly held view that heterogeneous networks enhance cooperation.