Why are people often late?
Some Indians think that Indians are often late and traffic is usually the excuse. A G reek friend of mine says Greek people are known for their tardiness and an unexpected visit from a relative is often the excuse. I find it hard to believe this one but my Russian friend says that Russians are often late because it is bullshit to be early. These are narratives from people who base their opinion based on personal experience, the validity of which cannot be guaranteed. However, there are more rigorous studies that indeed find cross-cultural differences in punctuality. " Participacion Ciudadana ", the civic group behind a campaign in Ecuador, reckons that lateness costs Ecuador $724m (or 4.3% of GDP) each year (Cabral & Pacheco-de-Almeida , 2006). Given the importance of punctuality in every aspect of life, it is important to look at the factors affecting punctuality and to identify situations that are conducive to punctual ...