Although many great religious and philosophic minds (Luther, Calvin, Wesley, as well as Locke and many others) noted the value proposition of morality in terms of economic and social development, it was the work of seminal philosophers such as John Rawls who in 1971's “A Theory of Justice” helped make the application of ethics to (business and economics) more acceptable to academic philosophers than had previously been the case.

Thus, we may note that “92% of Millennial consumers are more likely to buy products from ethical companies” and “82% of those consumers believe ethical brands outperform similar companies that lack a commitment to ethical principles” (Alfac Study), and we can understand this as a general case.

We can also examine this from the standpoint of natural selection. In “https://ncase.me/trust/The Evolution of Trust” we are shown that morality in fact has a value proposition; it has the emergent property of social (economic, etc.) success. When dealing with other people, being moral always helps the society move forward as a whole; while even only a few dishonest actors can be enough to destroy a society over time.