Age and cumulative advantage/disadvantage theory have obvious logical, theoretical, and
empirical connections, because both are inherently and irreducibly related to the passage of …

Cumulative dis/advantage has been defined as the systemic tendency for interindividual
divergence in a given characteristic to increase with the passage of time. Over recent …

The explanation of increasing heterogeneity and inequality within aging cohorts is a central
concern of the life-course perspective and common ground for demographers, economists …

In this article, I review the issues posed 20 years ago in my model of the historical
institutionalization of the life course. I (a) recapitulate the claim that the life course has …

The positive association between educational attainment and health is well established, but
the way in which the education-based gap in health varies with age is not. Do the health …

This book focuses on the adaptive role external constraints play in scaffolding individual
efforts to regulate their own development. The basic proposition underlying the theory that is …

Abstract Robert Merton's (1968a, 1988) articulation of the Matthew effect in science is one of
the key concepts that led to theoretical developments related to cumulative advantage and …

Drawing from cumulative disadvantage theory, the health consequences of obesity are
considered in light of the accumulation of risk factors over the life course. Two forms of …

Individuals as producers of their own life span development are discussed with regard to the
major challenges, opportunities, and constraints encountered over the life course. Major …

Background Despite a well-established literature on the protective effect of education on
health, less is known about group differences in the mechanisms underlying this …