[2] Born in La Goulette, French Protectorate of Tunisia, Fitoussi earned his Ph.D. cum laude in Law and Economics from the University of Strasbourg.

Edited by Vela Velupillai, it contained contributions from Nobel Prize winning economists Kenneth Arrow, Jean Tirole & Robert Solow as well as Olivier Blanchard & Edmond Malinvaud.

The book is divided in five chapters, written respectively by Kenneth Arrow, Joseph Stiglitz, Edmund Phelps, Robert Solow, and Amartya Sen, all of whom worked with Jean Paul Fitoussi at different points in their lives.

In 2013, Sciences Po, a leading French University, set up a day in celebration of Dr. Fitoussi's career, uniting him with economists Joseph Stiglitz, Edmund Phelps, Kenneth Arrow, Robert Solow and Amartya Sen, to debate on the major "fitoussian" issues: European integration, inequality, well‐being and environmental sustainability, and the European democratic deficit.

He has been also awarded various honours including the Honorary Deanship of the Faculty of Economics in Strasbourg University, Honoris Causa degree at the Buenos Aires University, and in his own country with the decorations of "Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite" (Knight of the National Order of Merit) and "Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur" (Knight of the Legion of Honour).