Yes, there is some evidence that immoral behavior, as exemplified though political corruption, is bad for economic development. The body of literature is large and to the extent that I am familiar with it, some corruption can "grease the wheels" and hasten development. In general, massive amounts of corruption is seen as a serious hinderence to development.
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=corruption+and+economic+development&hl=en&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart&sa=X&ei=8YxkVbyICYqzoQT5moKIBA&ved=0CBoQgQMwAA
Also, I think that the utilitarian ideal suggests that all else being equal, more wealth and consumption is better. This implies that economic development carries a moral weight. That is to say, an ethical society should develop economically, to raise the standard of living and reduce suffering.