Résumé : The case studies of Germany, Italy, and the UK show that liberalization has had positive direct effects on productivity in services, but does not always result in declining prices and employment gains. Liberalization seems to have positive effects on productivity, which - almost invariably because excessively high levels of employment are reduced - increases in all cases where its measurement is possible and reliable. Productivity may even increase well before privatization and liberalization, in anticipation of an increasingly competitive environment.