ABSTRACT
The global economy underwent significant changes in 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic spread across the world at a very rapid pace. The global pandemic has affected the behavior of the economies of the states as a whole, as well as the behavior of the business sector and individual households. The purpose of the article is to present and investigate problems related to the influence of emergency situations (pandemics) on changing the behavior of households regarding the formation and maintenance of stocks of consumer goods. The study is based on a theoretical analysis of the scientific literature on food stocks during an emergency such as the Covid-19 pandemic, statistical analysis, and surveys. A study of household food stockpiling behavior during the pandemic revealed signs of contradiction. The direction of the typical (standard) behavior of households in crisis situations was assessed, and promising anticipatory actions of state authorities were introduced in terms of creating insurance reserves in order to reduce the risk of running out of commodity reserves by individuals, enterprises, and the state. The transformation of the consumer behavior of all representatives of society in connection with the maintenance of stocks of consumer goods on the eve of emergency situations has been proven. The main conclusions are: the emergence and long-term existence of states of emergency (pandemics) significantly affect the behavior of households and form changes that have a residual character when returning to normal situations;there is a dependence between rational and irrational behavior of households in the conditions of a pandemic;the behavior of state bodies, enterprises, and households regarding the motivation for the formation of stocks and their content is different;household stockpiling behavior during a pandemic is the result of a compromise between rational and behavioral economics.