For those who love their beef noodles, July was not a happy month. China’s fast food connoisseurs were up in arms at the news that instant noodle prices were going to rise by an average of 20%. Their budget snack was becoming less budget and they didn’t think this was fair. They were correct.

An investigation conducted in August by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) found that members of the International Ramen Manufacturers Association were illegally colluding with one another to fix prices. The noodle makers were duly punished.

It was a victory for consumer activism and, following government approval of China’s first proper antitrust law in September, further success could follow.

“This new law [which outlaws monopolistic behavior such as price fixing] raises public awareness of the competition issue,” said C.F. Lui, a senior associate at law firm Baker & McKenzie in Shanghai. “People will know that they can make official complaints.”

The passing of the antitrust law, which comes into effect on August 1, 2008, marks the end of an 18-month period in which China has placed a large body of commercial legislation on to the statute books. In addition to antitrust, the most significant new laws cover bankruptcy, company activity, property rights, labor contracts and securities. All of them have an international flavor, a reflection of the time lawmakers spent researching the experiences of other countries.

The sense is that the policy is being put in place to shepherd China as it enters a more globalized and market-driven era, one in which corporate ethics and individual rights have much greater weight.

“They have got pretty much the full set of commercial and private property laws,” said Graeme Johnston, a Shanghai-based partner with Herbert Smith. “The challenge of the next 10 years will be getting these laws neutrally administered, interpreted and enforced.”

At the 17th Chinese Communist Party Congress in October, the people tasked with meeting this challenge may well be put in place.

RACE FOR SUCCESSION
The congress will see further discussion of President Hu Jintao’s twin policies of creating a “harmonious society” and pursuing “scientific development.” These are the cornerstones of his vision for the future: a country in which the growth-at-any-cost mentality is tempered by a social and an environmental conscience.

But many eyes will be on the race to inherit Hu’s legacy in 2012, when he is supposed to step down as leader.

There are likely to be significant changes to the Politburo Standing Committee (PSC), which comprises the senior leadership of the party. The high-flyers who are elected to the PSC in October will include the odds-on favorites to succeed Hu as party secretary and president.

What is notable about the front-runners to form the “fifth generation” of Chinese leaders, as well as those ascending the ranks beneath them, is their training. Gone are the days of the technocrat; these cadres have qualifications in law, economics, politics and philosophy.

Out in the provinces and municipalities, about half of the people appointed party secretary, governor or mayor since 2002 - the year Hu became party leader - majored in one of these subjects.

“The trend is very clear: Over the next five to 10 years more lawyers will move into the driving seat of Chinese politics,” said Li Cheng, professor of government at Hamilton College in New York state.

THE GROWTH STORY
According to Jonathan Anderson, chief Asia economist at investment bank UBS, this is not the work of a forward-looking leadership that wants to promote lawyers. It is part of a broader phenomenon as China’s rapid economic growth has spawned a demand for people who know how to manage it. In an increasingly corporate society, a premium has been placed on an understanding of the function of law and how it fits into business.

“I would say it is the growth process that is driving change in China and inexorably changing the focus of politics, law and society,” Anderson said.

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A HISTORIC building that was once home to the lawyer who prosecuted in the case of the notorious body snatchers Burke and Hare, is set to be turned into offices as part of a major redevelopment.

The B-listed Balmwell bar-restaurant, in Liberton, would be converted into offices and a sizeable area of derelict land beside it used to build more than 150 homes under the plans.

Restoration work would also be carried out on the grounds, which include the historic well that is believed to date back to the 15th century.

Developer Edenlaw has lodged plans with the city council after agreeing a deal with the local authority to buy the derelict land that lies alongside the grounds of The Balmwell.

The original mansion house was part of the Convent of St Katherine, and was later turned into the home of Sir William Rae, who was Lord Advocate at the time William Burke and William Hare were carrying out their serial killings in the Old Town. Among those to visit the mansion, which was built in 1806, were the writer Sir Walter Scott, in 1825.

Graeme Blackwood, director of Timber Bush Associates, the planning agents for Morningside-based Edenlaw, said: “The land where the housing is planned to go is basically derelict at the moment, and is next to the grounds of The Balmwell.

“The actual mansion house has become a bit tired-looking over the years, and various extensions have been added to it. The plan is very much to restore it to its former glory and provide 159 new homes alongside the new offices, with a quarter of the flats designated as affordable housing.

“The plans have just gone in to the council, and all going well I would hope that work would be underway within the next year.”

Irish labourer Burke was put on trial after Sir William persuaded sidekick Hare to turn “king’s evidence” and cooperate with the authorities in return for immunity from prosecution. After his testimony had helped convict Burke, Hare was allowed to flee Edinburgh to escape the hate mobs trying to find him.

The high-profile trial made the already well-known and respected lawyer Sir William one of the best-known public figures of 19th century Edinburgh.

The building where he lived takes its name from the activities of the nuns who were based at the convent, who were said to source natural oils there to treat lepers.

The building has previously served as a children’s home and a care home for elderly people. In recent years, however, it has been well known in the area as first a hotel and then a bar-restaurant.

Ian Murray, Labour councillor for the area, said: “The Balmwell is pretty well known in the area and is fairly well used. I was there myself recently.

“I haven’t heard anything about this particular development, although I do know that there is a pressing need for new housing in the area.

“I have to say 159 new homes does sound like a large number, but on the other hand it is a sizeable piece of land adjacent to the building.”

The future business-school classroom could be a bleak place in the next decade, with lecture rooms filled with eager students but nary a professor in sight. It’s a vision that has sent business-school leaders scrambling in recent years to find innovative ways to address a projected shortage of business PhDs.

By next year, however, some of those spots could be filled by academics who, while they are experienced teachers, haven’t stood in front of a B-school class before. To prepare, the professors will participate in a so-called bridge program to be launched at five business-school campuses next year.

John Fernandes, president of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the accrediting agency that came up with the program, says that the professional situation in business-school classrooms is at a tipping point. “Without any intervention, the student-to-faculty ratio will get really disturbing in the future,” he says. Accreditation at Stake

Business-school leaders have reason for concern. In the past five years, the overall production of business PhDs declined while enrollments in undergraduate and masters level business programs have grown. Exacerbating the problem, an entire generation of business-school professors who received their PhDs in the late 1960s and early 1970s are expected to retire within the next few years, leaving a vacuum in the B-school classroom that needs to be filled—and fast.

The situation is so dire that some business schools could eventually be in danger of losing their AACSB accreditation because of the faculty shortage, says Richard Sorensen, the chair of AACSB’s faculty shortage workgroup. “Some schools don’t have the financial resources or reputation and are having difficulty recruiting any new faculty,” says Sorensen, who is also the dean of Virginia Tech’s «www.businessweek.com», which is participating in the bridge program. “They can’t meet the classroom needs for a growing number of students.” Show ‘Em the Money

With a decreasing array of options, the B-school world is looking to the larger academic world for help, hoping to convince a psychology professor, for example, to take a job as a marketing professor. Organizers said they believe the program will appeal to professors in the social sciences, who could easily double their salaries by moving into a faculty position at a business school. The average salary of a new assistant professor of psychology is about $50,406 and peaks at around $76,949, according to the College & University Professional Association for Human Resources. Contrast that with the average salary of a business-school marketing professor, which is $125,000, according to a 2006 AACSB salary survey.

It’s a striking imbalance that the AACSB hopes to use to recruit new PhDs, promising them higher salaries and more career opportunities if they move into the B-school world. The accreditation group has taken a multipronged approach to the faculty shortage problem, devising strategies revolving around their accreditation standards—which requires member schools to have at least 50% of their classes taught by academically qualified (PhD) faculty, with 40% allowed for “professionally qualified” (non-PhD) teachers, and 10% of faculty that might not qualify as either. A Stronger Bridge?

The AACSB first tackled the issue last year by rolling out the first part of its bridge program—known as PQ Bridge (for professionally qualified)—one that trained business-world professionals to be classroom teachers. The program has had mixed results so far, with only 15 of the initial 75 graduates finding teaching positions as of this September.