“Economists do it with models” (“Quants do it with models”)

“Economists do it with models” is one of many professional “do it” jokes that have been put on T-shirts and bumper stickers. “Operations researchers do it with models” has been cited in print since at least 1979, and “Economists do it with models” has been cited in print since at least August 1996.
   
A “quant” is a quantitative analyst. “Quants do it with models” became a popular T-shirt with Wall Street quants in the 2000s.
 
   
Zazzle.com
Economists do it with models 
T-shirt
by tomyork
   
Zazzle.com
Quants do it with models
T-shirt
by tomyork
   
Google Books
The MATYC journal
Mathematics Associations of Two-Year Colleges
Volume 13
1979
Pg. 61:
Operations researchers do it with models.
   
Google Groups: sci.econ
Newsgroups: sci.econ
From: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (Paul Walker)
Date: 1996/08/23
Subject: Re: Quotes wanted for an Economist’s T-shirt
 
>We’re trying to design a T-shirt for the Department of Economics, and
>would appreciate any ideas. The more obnoxious, the better.
>Thanks in advance,
> Amitabh.
 
Economists do it with models
     
Google Groups: rec.humor
Newsgroups: rec.humor
From: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (Laura Baxter)
Date: 1996/09/19
Subject: Occupation do it “S”
 
SIMULATION HACKERS do it with models
     
Google Groups: rec.humor
Newsgroups: rec.humor, alt.humor, alt.tasteless.jokes
From: Gary John Peters

Date: 1997/08/14
Subject: Re: (Those in your occupation here) Do It…
 
Design Engineers do it with models.
   
Google Groups: alt.tastless Jokes
Newsgroups: rec.humor, alt.humor, alt.tasteless.jokes
From: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (Vasco Almeida)
Date: 1997/10/15
Subject: Re: (Those in your occupation here) Do It…
 
Economists do it with models (or so my lecturer tells me, but he’s such an old git that I reckon it would be fairer to say “economists assume that they do it” ).
   
Scotsman.com
Don’t blame economists, they’re only messengers
Published Date: 31 July 2002
By George Kerevan
(...)
You know what they say about economists, they do it with models.
 
Google Books
Robust Portfolio Optimization and Management
By Frank J. Fabozzi, Petter N. Kolm, Dessislava Pachamanova and Sergio M. Focardi
Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons
2007
Pg. 6:
The term “quant” which is short for quantitative analyst (someone who works in the financial markets developing mathematical models) was popularized, among other things, by Emanuel Derman in his book My Life as a Quant (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2004). On a lighter note, a T-shirt with the words “Quants Do It with Models” circulated among some quantitative analysts on Wall Street a few years ago. 
       
Economists Do It With Models
Why all the fuss about teacher incentives?
June 18th, 2007
(First blog post—ed.)
 
WallStreetOasis.com
Quants Do It With Models
by alcman on 6/27/08 at 11:32pm
...from a T-Shirt distributed to interns of Goldman Sachs Quantitative Strategies last year.
(Just thought that was funny!)