We merge detailed household level expenditure data from older households with historical local weather information. We then test for a heat or eat trade off: do houseolds cut back on food spending to finance the additional cost of keeping warm duing cold shocks? We find evidence that the poorest...

World War Two, rationing, and shortages limited the amount of food and other goods available to households. The new welfare state of Clement Attlee’s Labour Party and derationing were supposed to provide food and other consumption goods to meet the needs of households, but voters were...