Moral and economic development paradox?
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&amp;hl=en&amp;as_sdt=0&amp;as_vis=1&amp;oi=scholart&amp;sa=X&amp;ei=8YxkVbyICYqzoQT5moKIBA&amp;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.