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<article xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="http://jats.nlm.nih.gov/publishing/1.1/xsd/JATS-journalpublishing1-mathml3.xsd" dtd-version="1.1" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"><front><journal-meta><journal-id journal-id-type="publisher-id">PBES</journal-id><journal-title-group><journal-title>Proceedings of Business and Economic Studies</journal-title></journal-title-group><issn>2209-2641</issn><eissn>2209-265X</eissn><publisher><publisher-name>Bio-Byword Scientific Publishing Pty. Ltd.</publisher-name></publisher></journal-meta><article-meta><article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.26689/pbes.v9i7.15701</article-id><article-categories><subj-group subj-group-type="heading"><subject>Article</subject></subj-group></article-categories><title>Does Vertical Fiscal Imbalance Affect the Transfer of Rural Surplus Labor?</title><url>https://artdesignp.com/journal/PBES/9/7/10.26689/pbes.v9i7.15701</url><author>ZhangYating</author><pub-date pub-type="publication-year"><year>2026</year></pub-date><volume>9</volume><issue>7</issue><history><date date-type="pub"><published-time>2026-07-30</published-time></date></history><abstract>This paper explores the theoretical mechanisms through which vertical fiscal imbalance influences the transfer of rural surplus labor. Using provincial-level panel data from 1998 to 2017, it empirically examines the effects of vertical fiscal imbalance on this labor transfer process. 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