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Cumulative Advantage
“A small difference can unlock resources that widen the next difference.”
01 / SUMMARY
In short
Cumulative advantage describes processes in which earlier achievements or resources change later opportunities. Institutions may amplify, slow, or offset those trajectories across a life course.
03 / SCENE
In the wild
A first fellowship provides training, contacts, and credentials that improve the chance of receiving the next one.
04 / LIMIT
The limit
It turns neither every early success into destiny nor all inequality into one snowball effect.
FINAL NOTE
What remains
Find the mechanism that converts an initial advantage into repeated access to new opportunities.