"Maybe journals could issue "credits" for publishing replications of existing experiments, and require a researcher to "spend" a certain number of credits to publish an original paper?"
This would cripple small labs, unless people's startup packages come with potentially millions of dollars in funding to get their first few "credits".
It depends on the field and the policy would best be followed in an area like experimental psychology, where replication is not extremely costly (and where it might be an especially large program).
This would cripple small labs, unless people's startup packages come with potentially millions of dollars in funding to get their first few "credits".