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Abstract:Little work has been yet done to analyse if e-learning is an efficiency way in economic terms to produce higher education, especially because there are not available data in official statistics. Despite of these important constrains, this paper aims to contribute to the study of economic efficiency of e-learning through the analysis of a sample of e-learning universities during a period of time (1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002).We have wanted to obtain some empirical evidence to understand if e-learning is a feasible model of providing education for universities and which are the variables that allow for feasibility attainment. The main findings are: 1) that the rise of the number of students enrolled is consistent with increasing labour productivity rates;2) that cost labour savings are explained by the improvement of universities' economic efficiency (or total factor productivity); and 3) that improvement of total factor productivity in e-learning production is due to the attainment of scale economies, but also to two organisational innovations: outsourcing processes that leads to the increase of variable costs consistent with decreasing marginal costs, and the sharing of assets' control and use that allow for a rise in assets rotation.Keywords: e-learning, university, production, productivity, economic efficiency ©© Intangible Capital, 2008 -4(3): 191-211 -ISSN: 1697-9818 doi: 10.3926/ic.2008 Economic efficiency of e-learning in higher education… 192 J. Vilaseca -D. CastilloTítulo: La eficiencia económica del e-learning en la educación superior: Un enfoque industrial Resumen:Existe poca literatura que haya analizado en términos económicos la eficiencia del e-learning en la enseñanza universitaria, principalmente debido a la no disponibilidad de estadísticas oficiales. A pesar de estas importantes limitaciones, el presente artículo tiene como objetivo contribuir al estudio de la eficiencia económica del e-learning, a través del análisis de una muestra de universidades durante un período de tiempo (1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002). Se han obtenido algunos datos empíricos para tratar de comprender si el e-learning es un modelo viable de educación superior, y qué variables permiten alcanzar dicha viabilidad. Las principales conclusiones son: 1) que el aumento del número de estudiantes matriculados es coherente con el aumento de las tasas de productividad laborales, 2) que el ahorro de costes laborales se explica por la mejora de la eficiencia económica de las universidades (o productividad total de los factores), y 3) que la mejora de la productividad total de los factores en el e-learning no solamente se debe a la consecución de economías de escala, sino también a dos innovaciones organizativas: los procesos de externalización que conducen al aumento de los costes variables en consonancia con una disminución de los costes marginales, y el hecho de compartir el control y la utilización de los activos, que permiten incrementar la rotación.

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Although a clear improved was observed in the control of lipids and other risk factors, there is still a considerable potential to raise standards in secondary prevention of coronary patients followed in primary care concerning control of cardiovascular risk factors, particularly total cholesterol and lipid fractions.

This article provides evidence of the positive impact of the application of information and communication technology (ICT) on the Catalan tourist industry. The importance gained in recent years by the Catalan tourist market in the European context makes it an ideal laboratory for analysing the sector. The results gained show how the use of this technology leads to a higher level of internationalisation of the industry, development of organisational changes and introduction of new competitive strategies, which lead to a business model that is far removed from the traditional conceptions of the sector. Likewise, the strategic use of ICT leads to employment of a better qualified workforce, a more personalised service and closer links with suppliers and distributors. Nonetheless, the positive impact of ICT stands out most in the process of business innovation, as its use has contributed to overcoming some of the obstacles that existed, to integrating this process into the heart of the business and making the workers themselves more involved, providing as a result a wide range innovations (in terms of products, processes and organisation). Participation in cooperative networks, employing workers with higher levels of education and the intensive application of ICT have been key factors in this innovative process. Finally, thanks to the use of ICT and its impact on innovation, but also thanks to organisational change in the industry, improvements have been seen in productivity, which aids greater competitiveness in a changing context and high-pressure environment.