  We compare the metric and the Palatini formalism to obtain the Einstein
equations in the presence of higher-order curvature corrections that consist of
contractions of the Riemann tensor, but not of its derivatives. We find that
there is a class of theories for which the two formalisms are equivalent. This
class contains the Palatini version of Lovelock theory, but also more
Lagrangians that are not Lovelock, but respect certain symmetries. For the
general case, we find that imposing the Levi-Civita connection as an Ansatz,
the Palatini formalism is contained within the metric formalism, in the sense
that any solution of the former also appears as a solution of the latter, but
not necessarily the other way around. Finally we give the conditions the
solutions of the metric equations should satisfy in order to solve the Palatini
equations.
