The German economy is stuck in a structural crisis, with GDP hardly rising above its pre-COVID-19 level. In the run-up to the federal election, political parties propose various incentives for private investment and disagree about the extent of the intended stimulus for the corporate sector. The article examines the overall economic effects of these measures, the impulses for investment activity and the efficiency of the instruments. While the measures envisaged by FDP and CDU/CSU have the strongest economic impulses, the measures taken by SPD and the Greens are more targeted and therefore more efficient.