US - Henry Ford's 1908 Model T—the first mass-produced and affordable car—sparked the growth of highways, suburbs, and the middle class. Ripples from the Model T were enormous. With the cars came a nation that traveled more than ever before, that moved away from home that built an elaborate road system. The Model T also ended up spurring the growth of America's middle class. Since assembly line work was so tedious, Ford found it impossible to keep workers. So he boosted wages to at least $5 a day--significantly higher than what other manufacturing workers were making at the time.
India - IT services, outsourced by US companies, triggers development. The proliferation of IT and BPO companies empowered thousands of youngsters with substantial amount of disposable income. The burgeoning IT services industry simultaneous improved complementary sectors like travel and transport, real-estate, catering etc. With demand for job-ready technical professionals outstripping supply, wages of Indian IT professionals goes up significantly. It's hard to find any other piece of technology that had a greater impact than Model T Fords did in the 20th century. In their own way, they helped promote the growth of suburbs, distant shopping centers, freeways. It's hard to imagine now how they changed people's lives. It's quite common to hear parents of software engineers in India state something similar.
The Model T, which had only been made in black (suited for a speedy assembly line) since 1914, was eventually offered in other colors, but it was too late. In 1927, Ford stopped producing them. Late 2007 witnessed watershed events in IT outsourcing with US subprime. Continued focus and reliance on US companies for outsourcing projects has dented IT companies in India with several layoffs and conservative forecast of revenue guidance.
Ford may have dreamed up the first car for the masses, but he didn't realize that he had also created a new, more demanding consumer who would soon be searching for the next model and the newest look. Ford's biggest competitors, General Motors and Chrysler, adapted his revolutionary production methods, but they went a step further and began offering new styles, colors, and features. American companies like Accenture, IBM, HP etc are replicating India's outsourcing model but at a scale that's beyond cost arbitrage and relying more on intellectual arbitrage being leveraged across the world.
