Fukaya categories of Lagrangian cobordisms and duality

On introduit un nouveau type de structure de dualité pour les A_∞-catégories appelée correspondance de Calabi-Yau faible relative qui généralise la notion de Kontsevich et Soibelman d'une structure de Calabi-Yau faible (propre). On démontre l'existence d'une correspondance de Calabi-Yau faible relative sur la catégorie de Fukaya de cobordismes lagrangiens Fuk_cob(C x M) de Biran et Cornea. Ici M est une variété symplectique fermée ou convexe à l'infini. Cette structure de dualité sur Fuk_cob(C x M) étend la dualité relative de Poincaré satisfaite par les complexes de Floer pour les paires de cobordismes lagrangiens. De plus, on montre que la correspondance de Calabi-Yau faible relative sur Fuk_cob(C x M) satisfait à une condition de compatibilité avec la structure de Calabi-Yau faible usuelle sur la catégorie de Fukaya monotone de M. La construction de la correspondance de Calabi-Yau faible relative sur Fuk_cob(C x M) est basée sur des comptes de courbes dans C x M satisfaisant à une équation de Cauchy-Riemann non linéaire non homogène. Afin de démontrer l'existence de cette structure de dualité et de vérifier ses propriétés, on étend les méthodes de Biran et Cornea pour établir des résultats de régularité et de compacité pour les espaces de modules pertinents. On considère également les implications de l'existence de la correspondance de Calabi-Yau faible relative sur Fuk_cob(C x M) pour la décomposition en cônes dans la catégorie de Fukaya dérivée de M associée à un cobordisme lagrangien et on présente un exemple concernant la chirurgie lagrangienne.We introduce a new type of duality structure for A_∞-categories called a relative weak Calabi-Yau pairing which generalizes Kontsevich and Soibelman's notion of a weak (proper) Calabi-Yau structure. We prove the existence of a relative weak Calabi-Yau pairing on Biran and Cornea's Fukaya category of Lagrangian cobordisms Fuk_cob(C x M). Here M is a symplectic manifold which is closed or tame at infinity. This duality structure on Fuk_cob(C x M) extends the relative Poincaré duality satisfied by Floer complexes for pairs of Lagrangian cobordisms. Moreover, we show that the relative weak Calabi-Yau pairing on Fuk_cob(C x M) satisfies a compatibility condition with respect to the usual weak Calabi-Yau structure on the monotone Fukaya category of M. The construction of the relative weak Calabi-Yau pairing on Fuk_cob(C x M) is based on counts of curves in C x M satisfying an inhomogeneous nonlinear Cauchy-Riemann equation. In order to prove the existence of this duality structure and to verify its properties, we extend the methods of Biran and Cornea to establish regularity and compactness results for the relevant moduli spaces. We also consider the implications of the existence of the relative weak Calabi-Yau pairing on Fuk_cob(C x M) for the cone decomposition in the derived Fukaya category of M associated to a Lagrangian cobordism, and we present an example involving Lagrangian surgery

Introduction to the Special Issue: The Political Economy of Agrarian Change: Essays in Appreciation of Henry Bernstein

This special issue presents five essays and an interview in appreciation of Henry Bernstein. The essays – by major scholars in the field of agrarian political economy – engage with different aspects of Bernstein’s oeuvre: from direct critical reflections on his approach to the peasantry and the agrarian question through to arguments developed in connection to his work on commercial capitalism, landed-property and the relationship between petty production and accumulation. This introduction briefly sets out some of the major aspects of Bernstein’s distinctive editorial, pedagogical and theoretical contributions. It suggests that his most crucial and lasting contribution is in his absorption and ability to apply Marx’s theory and method as a living theoretical and analytical approach to the study of agrarian political economy

Maritime temporalities and capitalist development

This intervention develops arguments in our book Capitalism and the Sea on the complex temporalities attached to capitalism's intense and peculiar relationship to the global ocean. Technological innovations like the steamship or containerisation plainly transformed the pace and intensity of maritime commerce, and aspects of the global economy. We take this further to argue that the very origins and periodisation of capitalism are connected to the global ocean; as will be our futures, given the unpredictable implications of the oceans acting as the biosphere's ‘heat sink’. We consider several stylised expressions of time at sea: deep-time, logistical-time, life-time, and revolutionary time suggesting that the ocean world as a geographical space articulates these in distinctive and contradictory ways

Sensitivity of water stress in a two-layered sandy grassland soil to variations in groundwater depth and soil hydraulic parameters

Monitoring and modelling tools may improve irrigation strategies in precision agriculture. We used non-invasive soil moisture monitoring, a crop growth and a soil hydrological model to predict soil water content fluctuations and crop yield in a heterogeneous sandy grassland soil under supplementary irrigation. The sensitivity of the soil hydrological model to hydraulic parameters, water stress, crop yield and lower boundary conditions was assessed after integrating models. Free drainage and incremental constant head conditions were implemented in a lower boundary sensitivity analysis. A time-dependent sensitivity analysis of the hydraulic parameters showed that changes in soil water content are mainly affected by the soil saturated hydraulic conductivity K-s and the Mualem-van Genuchten retention curve shape parameters n and alpha. Results further showed that different parameter optimization strategies (two-, three-, four- or six-parameter optimizations) did not affect the calculated water stress and water content as significantly as does the bottom boundary. In this case, a two-parameter scenario, where K-s was optimized for each layer under the condition of a constant groundwater depth at 135-140 cm, performed best. A larger yield reduction, and a larger number and longer duration of stress conditions occurred in the free drainage condition as compared to constant boundary conditions. Numerical results showed that optimal irrigation scheduling using the aforementioned water stress calculations can save up to 12-22 % irrigation water as compared to the current irrigation regime. This resulted in a yield increase of 4.5-6.5 %, simulated by the crop growth model

Beyond Rentiership: Standardisation, Intangibles and Value Capture in Global Production

We examine corporate rentiership in the contemporary economy and suggest that the idea we are in a moment of step-change within capitalism may be premature. Implicit in arguments for a step-change is the claim that the present-day economy emphasises unproductive or rentier forms rather than the more productive and entrepreneurial forms of the past. In contrast, we argue that to understand our current situation we need to focus on the division of labour and most especially on processes of standardisation and the rise of intangible assets. Moving from Marx’s understanding of rent as a class relation, we re-embed rent within the circuit of capital and the realm of value distribution to investigate the class dynamics (among labour, capital and the state) through which giant firms seem to generate value out of rentierism. We argue that these class dynamics include the crucial and unexplored relation between standardisation and intangibles. We suggest standardisation within the division of labour renders people, places, and things interchangeable and that, in contrast, intangible assets differentiate them. When intangible assets emerge as new forms of property, they enable owners to generate scarcity and exert direct and/or indirect control over the wider division of labour. Through examining the combined rise of standardisation and intangible assets within the technical division of labour, we demonstrate how hierarchy within the social division of labour empowers some corporations to capture value produced elsewhere within the circuit of capital

Working beyond the border? : a new research agenda for the Evaluation of Labour Standards in EU trade agreements

The European Union (EU) has approximately fifty bilateral trade agreements in place with partners across the world, and more than twenty more that are at various stages of the negotiating process. At the same time as they increase in number, these agreements also increase in scope. EU trade agreements now cover a wide range of regulatory measures, including ‘Trade and Sustainable Development’ chapters, which, among other things, contain obligations in relation to labour standards. These labour standards provisions follow a common model (with limited variations) and adopt an approach which has been described as ‘promotional’ rather than ‘conditional’. In the context of the broader debate about the purpose and efficacy of the labour and trade linkage, this article examines the possibilities and limitations of the EU's new provisions on labour standards. It draws attention to the limited research on the impact of existing provisions ‘on the ground’ with respect to different types of agreements, and why this is problematic. It then concludes with proposals for a research agenda that can fill this gap, involving a set of methodologies requiring greater concern for firm and country-level assessment of changes arising from the implementation of this new breed of EU bilateralism and directed to the question of whether EU labour standards can really work ‘beyond the border’

Tariff Escalation and Preferences in International Fish Production and Trade

This paper reviews recent literature on the effects of tariff liberalisation on wild caught fish product production structures, development outcomes, and fish stocks. Using the case of canned tuna, the report shows that tariff regimes clearly influence the location of production and processing activities, thereby shaping the international division of labour. While trade measures clearly have significant implications for developing countries, the report finds that the impact of trade preferences and tariff liberalisation cannot be adequately understood without taking into consideration the particular characteristics and circumstances of individual countries. Therefore, one-size-fits-all policy prescriptions based on generalised assumptions about the functioning of the world economy will not provide an adequate policy framework. The author puts forward several recommendations concerning measures that could be taken to help developing countries adapt to changes in competitiveness in the evolving trade environment

Trade politics and the global production of canned tuna

publisher: Elsevier articletitle: Trade politics and the global production of canned tuna journaltitle: Marine Policy articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2016.02.006 content_type: article copyright: © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.publisher: Elsevier articletitle: Trade politics and the global production of canned tuna journaltitle: Marine Policy articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2016.02.006 content_type: article copyright: © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.publisher: Elsevier articletitle: Trade politics and the global production of canned tuna journaltitle: Marine Policy articlelink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2016.02.006 content_type: article copyright: © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved