Describe the long-run cost curves a typical firm faces and define a firm's minimum efficient scale

At its current short-run level of production, a firm's average variable costs equal $\$20$ per unit, and its average fixed costs equal $\$30$ per unit. Its total costs at this production level equal $\$2500$

$\left(a\right)$What is the firm's current output level?

$\left(b\right)$ What are its total variable costs at this output level?

$\left(c\right)$ What are its total fixed costs?

A watch manufacturer finds that at $1000$units of output, its marginal costs are below average total costs. If it produces an additional watch, will its average total costs rise, fall, or stay the same?

If short-run average variable costs and marginal costs decline at every feasible quantity of output, what (if anything) happens to the positions of the AVC, AFC, ATC, and MC curves? Explain.

During autumn months, passenger railroads across the globe deal with a condition called slippery rail. It results from a combination of water, leaf oil, and pressure from the train's weight, which creates a slippery black ooze that prevents trains from gaining traction.

a. One solution for slippery rail is to cut back trees from all of a rail firm's rail network on a regular basis, thereby helping to prevent the problem from developing. If incurred, would this railroad expense be a better example of a fixed cost or a variable cost? Why?

b. Another way of addressing slippery rail is to wait until it begins to develop. Then the company purchases sand and dumps it on the slippery tracks so that trains already enroute within the rail network can proceed. If incurred, would this railroad expense be a better example of a fixed cost or a variable cost? Why?

In your view, is a retailing firm's shrink likely to contribute most to its fixed costs or variable costs? Explain your reasoning.