This paper brings together sociological theories of culture and gender to answer the question-how do large-scale development interventions induce cultural change? Through three years of ethnographic work in rural Bihar, the authors examine this question in the context of Jeevika, a World Bank-assisted poverty alleviation project targeted at women, and find support for an integrative view of culture. The paper argues that Jeevika created new "cultural configurations" by giving economically and socially disadvantaged women access to a well-defined network of people and new systems of knowledge, which changed women's habitus and broke down normative restrictions constitutive of the symbolic boundary of gender. Recasting Culture to Undo Executive SummaryThis paper examines the nexus between development and culture. We try to understand the process by which a large-scale anti-poverty intervention, in a very poor and patriarchal region of India, induced a cascading set of changes that led to the empowerment of women. Through three years of qualitative fieldwork in rural Bihar, we examine this in the context of Jeevika, a with respect to existing inequalities -the state is one of the poorest in India, the population is almost 50% illiterate, and gender and caste hierarchies are oppressive -making cultural change very hard. Third, our quantitative analysis of Phase1 of Jeevika suggests that it had considerable impact on women's empowerment both within the household, and in the public sphere. In this paper we dig further and ask -what are the processes and mechanisms of change that remain invisible in the quantitative study, but result in the social impact captured by it.By relying on qualitative data (semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions with members, non-members and key stakeholders, as well as participant observation of group activities), collected in four villages (i.e. two matched pairs of treatment and control villages) in the first phase of Jeevika over a three-year period i.e. from 2011 to 2015, we find support for an integrative view of culture. Comparing two pairs of treatment and control villages, we find that, by giving women privileged access to a) symbolic resources (that facilitate the formation of a new identity anchored in the SHG, rather than caste or kinship), b) physical resources (such as group money, access to credit and passbooks), and c) an associated institutional environment (SHGs, VOs, CLFs, etc.), Jeevika cultivated new cultural competencies and capabilities that defied the traditional conventions of gender. Combined together, they give economically and socially disadvantaged women access to a well-defined network of people (women cutting across caste and religious boundaries, and both within and outside the village) and access to new systems of 'knowledge' with which they can challenge old generationally transmitted cultural systems that are more concerned with preserving boundaries rather than disrupting them. These changes manifest themselves most dramatically in the process...

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The International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) promotes evidence-informed equitable, inclusive and sustainable development. We support the generation and effective use of high-quality evidence to inform decision-making and improve the lives of people living in poverty in low-and middle-income countries. We provide guidance and support to produce, synthesise and quality-assure evidence of what works, for whom, how, why and at what cost. 3ie impact evaluations 3ie-supported impact evaluations assess the difference a development intervention has made to social and economic outcomes. 3ie is committed to funding rigorous evaluations that include a theory-based design, use the most appropriate mix of methods to capture outcomes and are useful in complex development contexts. About this report 3ie accepted the final version of the report, In search of the holy grail: can unconditional cash transfers graduate households out of poverty in Zambia?, as partial fulfilment of requirements under grant DPW1.1042 awarded through Development Priorities Window Grail An object or goal that is sought after for its great significance.-Meriam-Webster Dictionary A thing which is eagerly pursued or sought after.-Oxford English Dictionary iii Contents Acknowledgements .