Development and the Matthew Principle (1978)
The developmental process of the last 200 years has increased strikingly the disparity between the rich and the poor. We have no national income statistics for he eighteenth century, but it is doubtful whether 200 years ago the richest country had a per capita real income more than five times that of the poorest. ... Today the difference between per capita income for the richest countries and for the poorest is of the order of 1 to 50 rather than 1 to 5. ... For six generations in the rich countries income has been doubling roughly every generation. The widening gap is ... a partial application of the Matthew principle that "for whomsoever hath, to him shall be given" [Matthew 13:12].
Ecodynamics: A New Theory of Societal Evolution, Sage, 1978, pp. 291-92.