Does the h_α-index reinforce the Matthew effect in science? The introduction of agent-based simulations into scientometrics

Recently, Hirsch (2019a) proposed a new variant of the h-index called the h α -index. The h α -index was criticized by Leydesdorff, Bornmann, and Opthof (2019) . One of their most important points is that the index reinforces the Matthew effect in science. The Matthew effect was defined by Merton (1968) as follows: “the Matthew effect consists in the accruing of greater increments of recognition for particular scientific contributions to...