Nah. That doesn't work - look at China. Booming ( however erratically ), but apparently some of the worst when it comes to queing up.

I think it's tied to perceived corruption as well, rather like diplomats who rack up the fewest/most parking tickets in foreign countries. Countries with low corruption indices = diplomats who don't park illegally (pretty sure I read this somewhere, although I might be making it up).

People won't follow rules if the perceived benefit is small/nonexistent.

Bollocks. China.

Well, I left myself an out. Police state. Okay, I admit it, I'm wrong.

Re the diplo correlation, yes, there was such a study in NY.

Perception of benefit is obviously an issue, but one that is clearly situational.

People won't follow rules if the perceived benefit is small/nonexistent.

The power of inertia plays a role as well. Pavlovian conditioning. There are quite a few places where people could get away with not standing in line properly but don't do it. Avoiding the unexpressed negative judgement of others might be a benefit here, but the explanation is often more simple: it's just the way it is, and other ways don't come to mind. So if you come from a society where some habits have been instaured, inertia, more than perceptions of benefits, could be the driver. Which can partly explain why individuals so often act irrationally (i.e. in a suboptimal way in regard to benefits).