Witteveen attended the Gymnasium Erasmianum in Rotterdam from June 1933 until June 1939 and applied at the Rotterdam School of Economics in June 1939 majoring in Economics. On 10 May 1940 Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands and the government fled to London to escape the German occupation. During the German occupation Witteveen continued his study obtaining a Bachelor of Economics degree in June 1941 but in April 1943 the German occupation authority closed the Rotterdam School of Economics. Following the end of World War II Witteveen returned to the Rotterdam School of Economics and worked as a student researcher before graduating with a Master of Economics degree in December 1945 and worked as an associate professor of Financial economics at the Rotterdam School of Economics from December 1945 until July 1947 when got a doctorate as an Doctor of Philosophy in Financial economics. Witteveen worked as a researcher for the Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) from April 1945 until July 1947 and as a professor of Financial economics at the Rotterdam School of Economics from July 1947 until 24 July 1963. He also served as Rector Magnificus of the Erasmus University Rotterdam from 1 January 1951 until 1 January 1952.
