Abstract. Education is one of the most important drivers of social and economic development and increasing the access and participation to education is on the policy agenda of numerous countries. In this context, expansion of higher education is conducive for a better educated working force, with positive social and economic effects. On the hand, educational inequalities result in human capital loss and remain a weak point of the education systems. This study aims to explore the links between expansion of the participation in higher education and the nature and characteristics of educational inequalities. In this respect, we employ a bibliometric analysis on the existing research and studies on topics related to the expansion of higher education and inequalities. Our findings are relevant for informing policy makers about the nature of persistent inequalities in the age of educational expansion.

Keywords: higher education, educational expansion, educational inequalities, bibliometric analysis.